Stitching Progress...finally!

At last the post I have promised for weeks, one about stitching!  I really truly meant to only stitch on Elizabeth and Tuscan Rose.  And I did stitch on Tuscan Rose a bit...See?

But then I had this idea for retreat and the shop.  Wouldn't it be nice to put together an exhibit of Little House and Country Cottage designs using the models we have at the shop and asking our stitcher's and retreater's to bring pieces that they have stitched up and finished.  Can you imagine how incredible a display this might be if we have good participation?   Well, I think it would be incredible anyway so I decided maybe I should stitch up a couple I have in my stash which means that TR and E have to be put to the side temporarily.  After retreat I would like to continue to borrow as many pieces as possible and bring the display to the shop so those that aren't at retreat could enjoy it too.  Of course, those that don't live locally will probably take their pieces home with them but it would still be a neat display in the shop.  I started stitching The Inn at Fox River Mill on Christmas Eve and here is my progress so far.

 

I would have had more done if I hadn't got caught up in watching Beverly Hills Cop last night.  That movie is still able to make me laugh even all these years later.  Amy had never heard of it so I put it in her stocking for Christmas.  Amazingly enough...she liked it!!  We don't often like the same movies so I was relieved at her response.

That's it for today, Amy has an appt. this morning that she needs the car for so I have to go to work early in order for her to make it to her appt. on time.  I must say, sharing a car is the pits.  

Take care till next time!

Julie

Christmas Decorations, Gifts and Retreat Announcement

So how was Christmas for those of you that celebrate it??  Ours was good.  Not without it's share of drama though.  Amy fell down the stairs and has further damaged her already damaged knee.  We're giving it until tomorrow to feel better before we call the Dr.  She said she heard a snap when she fell so I am praying she didn't tear any more ligaments or cartilage in it.  Then Abby called to say we should go ahead and open gifts without her and the boyfriend.  She wouldn't explain any further than that except to say they hadn't left his parents house yet and it is a 2 hour drive from our house.  I told her we wouldn't open without them and if necessary we'd open after we got home from my parents house.  What she didn't want to explain was that Jordan was not feeling good and had thrown up.  Further, several in his family had had the stomach flu in the last couple of days.  BUT, she didn't know if it was the flu or if he was sick due to having a bit  too much to drink the night before.  When they hit town she called to explain what was going on and if it was okay for him to come over and when I said no, she got herself all bent out of shape.  And lets just say the day went downhill from there and I was really happy to get home last night and call the holiday over.  Apparently the boyfriend is feeling better today and they plan to come over tonight but to be really honest with you...I don't want them here.  I'm sure he's still shedding virus and since Abby has been exposed she most likely is percolating it right now and I don't want it!!  Horrible of me I know.

I have some holiday decor to share with you if you are interested.  And if you didn't see the previous post with the link to our Christmas Village, I have put it in my side bar and will keep it there for a while.  I didn't decorate as much as I usually do and I didn't take many pictures but here's what I've got.

Entryway

The Libray

Library Tree

Close Up of Library tree

DiningRoom

Kitchen Hutch

Fireplace in family room

Candles lit up

Family room tree

wall above couch

Nutcracker

Santa Smoker

I hope you enjoyed the decorations.  I meant to post them before the holiday but time just got away from me. The last two pictures are pieces I bought at craft shows.  Both were made by the same lady and the detail is just amazing.  I haven't been to a craft show in several years now so I don't know if she is still making things or not.

I must have been a really good girl this year cuz Santa was very good to me.  I am the proud and thrilled owner of a Kindle Fire and finally I can say I have an app for that!!  It's a pretty cool little toy and if that had been all I received I would have been completely content.  But Santa Dan also built me this:

It has 3 drawers that open which is awesome since I only have 7 drawers in my kitchen and one of those doesn't really count as it's so small.

And in this picture you can see the new curtains too.  That pretty much finishes off the kitchen remodel except for a few little details which knowing my husband the way I do....will never get done.

I received many other nice things too, a new building for the village, some craft stuff, gift cards, a popcorn popper and still more I can't think of right now.  I am a very lucky lady.  Thank you family and friends for all the lovely gifts this year!!

Still not much stitching to show you so I will hold off on that till next time.  Maybe by then I'll actually have something to show you!

I put a link to the shops latest newsletter in my sidebar.  We announced our Spring Retreat and all the pertinent information is in there for those that wanted it.  I do  hope some of you might be able to come!

Gonna end this here.  I'm working on Laundry and my washer just buzzed at me.

Take care till next time!!

Julie  
            

Coming Up for Air and a Christmas Village Slideshow

Good Lord I can't believe the month I have had.  Not that anything momentous occurred  but it has been jam packed full of busy I tell ya.  Some of the highlights include but are not limited to...

1.   Decorating for Christmas
2.   Physical Therapy
3.   Cleaning the house for the open house
4.   The Open House
5.   Christmas Shopping
6.   Orthopedic appt
7.   Gyno appt.
8.   Dental appt.
9.   MRI
10. 400 Christmas framing projects, okay, not that many but you get my drift
11. The Open House part II
12.  Appt with the floor guy to start the claim process on our kitchen floor
13.  Painting the Hallway
 and a million other things too numerous to mention.

Ya know what didn't happen?

1.  Stitching, none, nada, zip,
2.  Blog Reading
3.  Book Reading
4.  Christmas Baking
5.  The watching of my traditional Christmas movies
6.  Talking with friends
7.  Announcing the winner of the first time story teller.

But I am here to rectify that right now.

The winner is....

Sarah from http://kiwigetscrafty.blogspot.com/

Congratulations Sarah and thanks for taking part in the sharing your first time giveaway!  Either people don't remember their first time cross stitching or they were too scared to read what it was all about but there sure weren't many entries.  I did enjoy reading about everyone's first time and wish more had shared theirs.    So Sarah, email me your snail mail address and I will get a little something mailed out to you.

And for those of you who couldn't come to the Village Open House, here's a picture to whet your appetite and  link to a slideshow I was finally able to put together.  The pictures aren't the greatest as my camera hates low light but I hope you can overlook the poor picture quality and enjoy it anyway.

https://picasaweb.google.com/109322071450085611930/ChristmasVillage2011#slideshow/5688228471526248530

  

My First Time

I have been a bad blogger girl.  My friend Doreen (aka D or DD) informed me yesterday that I have been bad.  Are you ever going to update your blog she said?  I replied that I really didn't have anything to blog about lately to which she said,  "You ALWAYS have something to talk about Julie".  I'm not really sure how to take that, is she saying I am a drama queen stirring up trouble wherever I go?  Or maybe just that I talk too much?  Either way, it got me to thinking about a post.  All day long I thought about what to talk about.  All evening I thought some more.  And even in my sleep last night I was pondering what to say.  Finally I decided to talk about my first time.  Now, I realize some might think that's really not an appropriate thing to blog about.  But I think it's fun to hear and yes, even see pictures of everyone's first time.  After all, each one of us has had a different experience and maybe by sharing those experiences, we might encourage others to let go of their inhibitions and try it.  It's fun!  After all, it can be a stimulating activity, or it can be relaxing.  It can make you go weak in the knees, or squeal with excitement.  It brings people together and connects them even when they are apart.  I don't see the harm in sharing all that with you out there in blogland so grab a cup of something and enjoy my first time.  I'll try my best to keep it clean.

I was only 22 or so when I experienced it for the first time.  I'd dabbled with other forms of it of course since I was 12 or so but by the time I was 22 it was harder to find the other forms.  Most of the gals I knew had moved on to...you know....it.  But being old fashioned, not to mention stubborn, I had to be forced the first time.  We were visiting friends and I remember complaining loudly to my friend (Diane) about not being able to do what I was used to and she finally knocked me upside the head and told me in no uncertain terms that I was going to try it and not only was I going to like it but I was never going to go back to the other way of doing things.  I believe I laughed in her face and said that just wasn't going to happen.  I enjoyed my way of doing it and didn't want to change.  But she insisted and went into her bedroom dragging me with her.  She got down on her hands and knees, reached under the bed and pulled out a small plastic bin.  Telling me I was not to mention what I was going to see to her husband, she started to remove the lid.  I closed my eyes, afraid of what I might see and peeked through my eyelashes as if that would make it any less shocking.  As she pulled away the lid I could finally see it.  Fabric of a kind I had never seen before.  Leaflets with little symbols on them, EEK! and finally something that looked familiar to me...DMC embroidery floss.  My mouth went dry with fear.  How in the world was I supposed to create a picture  without the pattern already on the fabric???  She was nuts!  Picking up the leaflets,  she handed them to me and said, choose one you like, these are all really easy patterns.  Reaching out with a shaking hand I took the leaflets from her and sat down on the bed.  The pictures were pretty but all I could see were symbols, lots and lots of  little symbols.  How was I supposed to do this?  It was a month away from Christmas so after looking through what I later found out were called charts, I chose one of an angel.  Next she handed me some fabric.  It was nothing like what I used for stamped cross stitch.  Finally she said choose some floss and lets get you started.  Now?  Here?  Can't I think about this for a minute??  Huffing with impatience, she quickly grabbed the colors needed, put the lid on the box and shoved it under the bed, just as her husband came into the room to see what was going on.   Assuring him that all was fine and we'd be out in a minute she sat me down on the bed and began my instruction on all things counted cross stitch.  She taught me how to tape the edges of the fabric so it wouldn't ravel, (big NO NO now) how to find the middle of the fabric, how to follow the chart and to start in the middle of it, what the fabric was called, some weird word spelled A-I-D-A, but we weren't sure of the proper pronunciation and finally how to make my crosses and that they all needed to go the same way.  All I could think about was how it was so much easier when the pattern was printed right on the fabric!!  But she hounded helped me the rest of the day until I knew sorta what I was doing.   I went home that night with Dan and continued to work on that Angel.  I worked on her until she was finished and then I had Dan make a frame for her.  She was beautiful!  And I was hooked.  Diane was right.  I never looked back.  30 years later I am still enjoying it

I hope all of you will share your first time.  In fact I challenge you to do so.  I will give one blogger that shares the story of their first time a little giftie, don't know what it is yet as I just thought about it.  All you have to do is blog about your first experience with counted cross stitch, share a pic of it if you have one and then post on this post only saying you have done so and leave your blog address so we can all read about it.  I'll draw the name of the winner on the 14th of December.

Take care till next time!

Julie 

Stitching Progress

Just a fly by to show you my stitching progress.  I had planned to post yesterday on my day off but somehow the day got away from me.  Just want to thank everyone for their wonderful comments on my last post and to those that wanted my conversion on the Quaker Noel I will certainly share that with you when I get a free minute.

Have a great day and take care till next time!

Julie


Elizabeth

Tuscan Rose

Give Thanks  (Plum Streets newest freebie)

A Dental visit, Stitching finishes and Sock Monkeys

Thank God that's done!  I've said it before and I'll say it again...I do not like the dentist.  Today was the second half of my dental cleaning.   I was so bad about going the last couple of years (I have a reason) that they didn't have time to clean them all the first time.  So today found me in the chair for the second time in 2 weeks. And to make matters worse, I not only had to finish up the cleaning but I had to have a cavity they found in round one filled today also.  Normally, despite my hate/hate relationship with the dentist, I go every six months for a cleaning.  But a couple (or more)  years back I needed a root canal.  And even after the root canal, I still had pain.  So they re-did the root canal...twice.  Still had pain.  I finally went to a different Dentist and he replaced the crown which alleviated most of the pain.  But not all.  After another trip to an oral surgeon, it was decided that the tooth behind the one with the root canal, also needed a root canal.  And still we have pain.  Not so much in the tooth but in the gum tissue itself.  You'll have to  excuse me for not wanting them digging around in my very sore gum tissue with sharp pointy things designed back in the dark ages as instruments of torture, so when they said let's wait a bit to do your cleaning and let that calm down....I took them at their word!  Only it never did, calm down that is.  So I never went back.  Then I lost my crown after my surgery and I had to go in and have it glued back on and they cornered me.  Crap!  Guilt trips get me every time.  So now my teeth are clean and shiny but my face is immobile from the massive quantities of Novocaine injected into my gums.  I feel like I have drool running down my chin but when I check in the mirror I can't see any.  You'd tell me if I was drooling wouldn't you??

On the stitching side of things...I have been holding out on you.  A couple of months ago, I took it upon myself to stitch Bent Creeks Quaker Noel.  But when I pulled the colors I was not thrilled with Wood Smoke as the main color.  Soooo naturally, I changed it.  I decided to use CC Blacksmith Blue in place of the Wood Smoke.  I stitched on it whenever I felt like I needed to do something  other than Tuscan Rose, Elizabeth or Double Dutch.  But as I was stitching I kept thinking, yuck, I don't like all this blue.  If any of you have the chart, you'll notice that most of it is done in the one color with small accents here and there of other colors.  So I decided to change it up a bit. Okay, so I changed it a lot.  You can't tell me you're surprised about that.  It is me we're talking about and my changing things seems to be the norm!  Anyway,  I love it!   I am tickled pink with how it turned out.  Here's what the original looks like (all pics should be clickable)

And here is my version

stitched on 32 ct. Valor using most all the colors called for 

I  finally got Summer by Blackbird Designs framed up yesterday too.

And I stitched on Tuscan Rose last night for the first time in what seems like forever but didn't get enough done to show a picture.  I'll try to post one in a couple of days.

My in-laws came down this past Saturday to deliver birthday and Christmas gifts before they head south for the winter.  They took us out to Village Inn for brunch (yum!!) but before we left the house I snapped a pic of the girls since they were both dressed and presentable at the same time.  Doesn't happen often.  I was only allowed to take 2 pictures, only 1 turned out okay.  I long for the days when they would cooperate with me and my camera....

And I have to share this picture of Abby and her boyfriend.   I call it A Girl and her Sock Monkey.  It's my new favorite picture.  Too stinking cute!

Jordan's Mom made his costume for him and he wore it to the Nebraska game the Saturday before Halloween.  I gotta say I find Sock Monkeys a bit freaky and 6 ft. tall ones even more so but you have to admit, it took some balls to wear that costume to the football game!

You all take care till next time!

Julie



 

DONE!!!

I'm doing a virtual happy dance here since I can't do one in real life.  Double Dutch is done!!  Finished.  Completed. I was of course the last one to be done which just proves what I have said for a long time,  I am the world's slowest stitcher!  But it is done.  Back to Tuscan Rose and Elizabeth now.  I want to try to hold off on any new starts until I finish Tuscan Rose.  But I don't know how long I will be able to deny myself a new start.  BTW, did I mention Double Dutch is done??

Mary finished hers a week or more ago.  Is this not gorgeous??  Trust me when I say that my picture does not do it justice!

Mary also finished her Anniversaries of the Heart.  She brought it to stitching yesterday so  I snapped a picture.  It's now been added to the pile of stitching I need to frame.  It's beautiful now but she chose a gorgeous frame for it and I can't wait to see it all done.  Such a special piece.

I made a Scissor bird this week to match the Tessa Scissors.  I'm not a big fan of  primary colors so I can't say I'm totally in love with it but I think it's perfect with the scissors.  Now she just needs a scissor fob to match.

Have you ever had someone take something you said and twist it so it bears very little resemblance to what you actually said?  I have recently had this happen and I have to say I'm a bit sick to my stomach over it.  Now I'll admit, I should never have opened my mouth in the first place, and believe me, I won't make that mistake again but I would have thought that women over the age of 50 would be above that kind of thing.  But apparently not.  So lesson learned.  Lips are zipped.

I'll leave you today with a piece I just finished framing.  The stitched piece,  Salem Sisters by Plum Street Samplers,  was donated to the shop by Carole.  Thank you Carole!  

I need to go do something about supper and my washer just buzzed at me which is my cue to get up off my butt.

Take Care till Next Time!

Julie