Saturday Is Bath Day

What? Two days in a row? Don't get used to it.

I had to show you what I accomplished so early on a Saturday. You may remember my old man cat Merlin, aged 17 years. Even though he's suffering from kidney failure (used to be 20 pounds, now down to 11), he's still hanging in. Because he's so old, he doesn't take such good care of himself anymore, so he gets an occasional bath. Merlin would probably exact some hideous retribution (ie, pee in a corner, barf on the carpet ... oh, wait, he already does that) if he had any idea that I'm showing you these pictures. But I couldn't resist, and what he doesn't know won't hurt him. Here he is after his bath. Oh, and in the background is a piece of now-shriveled catnip I brought in for him last night.

I know (gasp)! Isn't he pitiful, but cute? Merlin's a little unsteady on his feet at times, but he's still jumping up on his favorite places. He's especially fond of jumping from my bed onto my lap while I'm stitching. You can just imagine how that turns out. He's our friend, so we'll take good care of him as long as we can. I can tell he's weaker, because this summer there hasn't been any bloodshed (never his blood, mind you) during our tub encounters. I almost feel bad that I don't have any wounds.

That's it for now. Make some fun.

Whew! Week #1 Is Done

Ahhhhhh, it's finally Friday. The first week with kiddos at school is done, and I'm pooped. I always feel very sorry for the first-graders. Many of them have never been to a full day of school until this week, and they're incredibly tired for the first few weeks. You can actually watch them droop during the afternoons. Poor sweet little kids. I can relate. Today a second-grader told me that I might be a little older than his dad. After I asked how old is dad is, he told me 28. Then I told him that my son is 28, so I'm old enough to be his grandma. His answer? "Huh-uh, I don't think so." I love this kid.

I don't have loads of time to spend here this evening, because I wanna go put my ass in my chair and stitch until I can't keep my eyes open. But I wanna let my stash giveaway girls know what's coming their way. Barb, the new stash queen (because I sent her something a few weeks ago), is the only brave soul to request the Paula Vaughan kit. You rock, Barb! I put three little slips of paper in the cute little Damariscotta dish for the L&L Angel. I swished and swirled them around and pulled out Jennifer, so the angel will be winging her way to Georgia. Thank you again to any of you who have requested my destashing treasures. As soon as I have more stashy stuff to pass on, you'll see it here.

I wish I had a picture for you, but my progress on Evil Serpent has been very slow this week. Maybe I'll have something to show after the weekend. Oh, the weekend. I love weekends. Hope you have a happy one. Make some fun.

A Monday Quickie

The lesson I'm relearning this week is that time flies whether we're having fun or not! I had such good intentions, but time moves so quickly when that work day takes over.

I'll get business out of the way first, and then we'll go on to fun. Well, I guess the business part of this post is kinda fun. I'll be sending the Shepherd's Bush pillow kit to Diana (no blog?) just as soon as she sends me a snail mail address. Hooray ... another stash piece off to a happy home. No one asked for the bread cloths, so they'll go back into the cedar chest for a little while.

I have two more kits to give away, and then we'll stop until my friend Rhonda (no blog) decides what she wants from the bag I took to her house. The Lavender and Lace "Angel of Summer" kit below needs a new home. I'm thinking that this design uses 32-count Twilight Blue linen, and it includs all of the floss, metallics and beads. Since it was kitted, it has to be more than a decade old. It's a beautiful angel, but I know I won't stitch it.

Then there's this Paula Vaughan "Welcome Summer" kit. It includes an ivory fabric and all of the needed flosses.
If you're interested in either or both of the kits, just let me know by Thursday, and we'll do what we've been doing for a couple of weeks now. If you're new to the game, just look at the past few posts to catch up.

Here's what I've been working on in the little time I've had to stitch. Adam and Eve have appeared in Evil Serpent, as have the birdies. I really wanna finish this one and another A&E so I can put them together. Now if only my schedule will cooperate.

I had a very exciting weekend. On Saturday I met up with an old college friend who I hadn't seen in about 30 years. It was just like we'd seen each other last week! He looks and seems so much the same. Isn't that the strangest thing? We hung around a lot for the year we were in school together, and then we kinda went our separate ways, keeping in touch once in a while. It's good to see old friends. Then the man I hang around with entertained me with a little motorcycle ride up to Estes Park. It was a beautiful weekend, and it was filled up in the perfect ways. Color me lucky!

That's it for today. I'm off to watch The Closer and hit the hay. Make some fun.

Last Day of Freedom

Yep, I'm whining. It's the last day of summer vacation (sniff ... sob), which is my favorite time of year. I'm very happy to be employed, but I love, love time off. I appreciate every single minute of it. We all know those retired people who complain about being bored. I'll never be one of those people. Bored has always been a dirty word at my house. With all there is to see and do, how can anyone fail to entertain themselves?

As promised, I used an untechnological method to choose recipients for the UFOs and fabric. I got out my pretty little Damariscotta Pottery dish and put little slips of paper in it. Like this ...

Ellen will be receiving Home Sweet Home, Buttoned Hearts will be sent to Loraine (no blog?), and the fabrics will be sent to Pam. If you ladies will send me a snail mail address, I'll get those things out to you ASAP. Thanks to all of you who offered to give homes to my old projects and fabric. For those of you who are wondering, I'm thrilled to be giving stash items away rather than throwing them away. I hate waste! It is my extreme pleasure to keep the US Post Office busy carrying things from my house to yours. And isn't it nice just to get something you want with no strings attached? I love things like that. So enjoy.

I'd like to mail out two more packages. These projects aren't even UFOs ... they're ancient Shepherds Bush kits (just look at the packaging and charts). First is a selection of bread cloths that I'm giving away together. There's an angel cloth and a shepherd cloth.
I also have a cute little pillow kit. Sorry ... it's a picture of a picture, but you can get an idea of how it looks.

All of these items have fabric, cotton floss and chart. Again, you just have to let me know the item(s) you'd like to have. I'll give you until Friday to make your request. I think I'll try to get it all settled by Friday afternoon, because there's no telling what the weekend will bring.

How about a progress picture? Here's Block #1 of Shores of HRH all finished. That was fun!

I've worked a little on Evil Serpent and I've sat at my sewing machine for a little while, but that'll have to wait until next time. I'm off to play golf and enjoy the rest of the day.

Oh, by the way, the Harley trip to Steamboat Springs was great. We had wonderful weather and saw beautiful scenery. If you don't know about Steamboat, you oughta google the little ski town and see it before developers completely change it. Make some fun!

UFOs and an OMG

Gee, I was certain I'd be back here before now. Instead of sitting at the computer, I've been filling the last week before going back to school (NO!!!) with fun. Very little stitching is being done, but oh well. I'm forcing my butt into the chair at my computer desk to get this post done, because there are things to do and people to see. Shall we jump right in to the UFOs?

First up is Buttoned Hearts by Shepherd's Bush. I started it long, long ago, but didn't make much progress. It's stitched on 18-count white linen with Medici wools. It comes with the fabric, wools, chart, and buttons. Wanna finish it?

Next is Home Sweet Home, a kit by Emie Bishop (Cross 'n' Patch). I started it in a class I took with her at the Charlotte Market ages ago. This project has a hardanger section in it, which isn't really difficult, but it helps to have had some practice. It comes with the chart, instructions, silks and metallics, and fabric. Wouldn't you like to finish this project?

Those are really the only two UFOs up for grabs today, but here is a fabric assortment I'd love to give away. As you can see, there are several colors. What you may not be able to see is the count variety. These are all evenweave fabrics, but none of them are linens. There's some Linda, Tula, some Lugana (I think), and at least another type I've forgotten the name of. Care to add them to your stash?

That's it for today's selection. If you're interested in having these items arrive at your house, please just leave me a comment by Tuesday, August 11. If more than one person asks for any item, I'll do a decidedly untechnological drawing to pick a recipient. Sound good?

And now for the OMG! Look! It's And They Sinned ... framed!

How's that for speed in framing? The framer did a lovely job of putting my mother of all samplers into a dark cherry frame. I like it! But where to put it? Looks like there's a rearrangement in my future. The stairwell sampler wall will require some space to accomodate the new acquisition. Sounds like an appropriate end-of-vacation (golly, I hate to say that) activity.

That's it until next week. I'm off now to prepare for a weekend motorcycle getaway to Steamboat Springs (gasp!) with the man I hang around with. I know! Doesn't that sound like fun? What a good idea he had. Do you think I'll be stitching while riding on back? Probably not. Have a wonderful weekend and make some fun.

The Last Tuesday in July

Is it Tuesday already? How does that happen so quickly? I'm amazed at how the summer is slipping by. I keep trying to dig in my heels, but it doesn't seem to be working.

In my mind, feeble as it is, that UFO giveaway idea worked rather well. I had a request from one person for each project, so I'm happy. The bunny band sampler is going to Kate, Barb is getting the log cabin quilt square, and Wanda (no blog) will get the seashells. There is quite a selection of items in my UFO/Never Gonna Stitch pile, so I'll be picturing them for future giveaways beginning with my next post. I truly appreciate giving UFOs a good home. It makes me feel less wasteful.

Speaking of being less wasteful, here's something that I finished from my olden WIP pile. It's Twined Heart from Shepherd's Bush, and I can remember beginning it at an old stitch 'n' bitch session about 12 years ago (gasp). I know! It sat for years in a drawer, waiting for me to put the ribbon and beads on it. What the hell took me so long? It took all of about 45 minutes yesterday afternoon to just get 'er done. So hooray!

What about the new starts? Well, there hasn't been enough progress on Mayflower Women to warrant a picture. I'll see what I can do to remedy that situation. In another moment of weakness, I started the Evil Serpent Sampler from Examplars from the Heart (oops). OK, I've been a naughty girl again. I think I can live with that, because it's really fun to stitch. And look ... it's so cute.

Since I have a newly organized selection of fabrics, I decided to use something I've already spent money on (imagine that!). So Zack (yes, he's visiting again this week) helped me give a piece of 40-count Sandstone a spa day in my kitchen. Under Zack's watchful eye (he follows me everywhere), I soaked the fabric in my jar of coffee from the fridge for an hour or so, and then baked it in the oven until dry. I love the splotches we got. The man I hang around with will be amazed at all of the marvelous things his dog has learned, won't he?

I've also spent some time working on Block 1 of Shores. For some strange reason, the grayish rocks and the blue in the water look like the same color. In real life, it's not that way at all. Let's see ... could it be the camera? Nah ... it has to be operator error. But you get the idea.

That's what's been happening around here. I'll be looking through my files with the idea of dislodging more projects from my collection. You can be certain that there are some oldies-but-goodies in there. After the UFOs are gone, I'll be putting charts up for grabs. I'd better go get busy. Make some fun.

Good News!

There is good news for our family today! Mom had a scan on Monday showing that chemo is shrinking her tumors and lymph nodes. Isn't that the best news? Mom is a champion at having a positive attitude, and she's extremely encouraged by the new info. I'm pretty certain that she has a record number of prayers/chants/good thoughts from all over the world working for her, so thank you again to all of you who are helping. We could never express how grateful we are for your kindness. My only request is that you keep Mom (Estelle) on your list and continue to do whatever you're doing. Relief is a great feeling. I'm heading over to hang out and stitch for a while during her chemo today.

OK, on to regular stuff. Here's my TUSAL jar for the month, pictured with some friends. You'll notice that I've moved up to a quart-sized jar. I have a feeling that it's the stitchy trash, not orts, that made the move necessary. Do we care about that? Nah.

I've been a busy, busy organizer. Slow, but busy. After my closet got a makeover, I started working on my stash. I've sorted through all of my fabric, identified counts, and put everything into new Elfa drawers (gasp). I know! New drawers in my closet! The Container Store is a lovely place. Sorry ... I've ADD'd my way off the subject. There are now special places for kitted projects (way more than I thought) and WIPs (yes, I found more :O).

I had forgotten about many UFOs that I have absolutely no intention of finishing. You know how that is, right? My tastes and desires have changed in the decades since they were started. So, I hope I'm not veering off into the tacky side of blogland, but I don't know all of the rules. Would anyone like to finish the following UFOs?

First up is Window Sill Shells. My start is on 32-count white linen, two-over-two, and includes chart and start.
Next is a project that someone else started and gave to me, thinking I'd be thrilled to finish it. No, I'm not. It's on linen band and includes floss, beads, dowel for hanging, and instructions.

Last on today's list is a log cabin quilt square with specialty stitches. It could be framed or made into a pillow, and it's almost finished. Most of the diamond shapes on the right need to be unstitched and restitched, and that's the border to the project. Only the border has to be stitched. I think it's on 28-count natural linen, and it comes with floss, directions, chart and start.
If you're interested in any of these UFOs, just leave a comment about which one you'd like to have. If more than one person is interested, I'll draw names in a very unscientific way. If no one is interested, they'll go off into the UFO cosmos ... or something.

Since I haven't finished going through my cedar chest and files (I know ... I've been a hog and this is years overdue), there will be some more destashing to come. I've promised a friend first chance at kits and charts, but she'll want only a fraction of what's leaving the premises. So stay tuned for some stash giveaways.

When not reorganizing, I've been stitching away on my new starts, Shores and Mayflower Women. Next time I'll show you what I've been up to. Believe it or not, there are only three weeks left of summer vacation for me (oh no!), which makes me almost apoplectic. Ya'll know what a brat I am about time off. I've had Zack as a houseguest, because his person has been working nights (poor man ... it's done him in). He's been helping me get my miles walked and my errands done. Merlin (yes, the old man cat is still hanging in there) is not amused, but we've had only one confrontation all week.

'Til next time ... make some fun.