GRITS

Wicked!

2010-07-08T16:56:00.000-07:00

This was a freebie from my LNS. The designer is Primitive Needle. I stitched it on a pale gray 36 ct. linen. I used all the recommended threads except I switched the Noir Belle Soie for Old Crow.

Book Blog

2010-06-30T10:53:00.000-07:00

I'm working on starting a book blog. It's in the infancy stages right now, but if you want to take a peek

From the TBR Pile

I've been remiss

2010-06-25T08:19:00.000-07:00

I've had a couple of finishes

Please excuse the pictures. I realize they're really close up.

On the left is Just Nan's Strawberry Heart. On the right is Sweetheart Tree's Lavender Blossoms Biscornu.

Lately I've been pulling some old WIPs out of the closet and doing some work on them...I have a great deal of shame over all the WIPs I have LOL

Finished

2010-05-26T08:52:00.000-07:00

Pretty Pocket Winder Progress

2010-05-23T07:11:00.001-07:00

My goal was to have this finished by the end of the weekend but I don't see that happening, but I have finished most of the stitching. I need to add the beads, there's only a few, and do the back stitching around each of the panels, then I can cut it out and finish it up. I'm hoping that aspect won't take too long!

The Next MiraRR

2010-05-18T19:19:00.000-07:00

I've been pondering the next MiraRR since I feel like there's all this pressure on me to do it!!! I'm kidding y'all. I'm thinking the Big Ass Pixie Project wouldn't be appropriate because it would be too big to send around and secondly, I wouldn't have it ready to send assuming we're going to start this thing in like the next year or so. Soooo...I've been hatching a little idea of doing the 12 Days of Christmas. However, I'm not sure how to arrange them. They aren't all exactly the same size. They're a little bit bigger than the usual RR size, but they have a lot of blank space. Decisions, Decisions....

Hey...Yesterday was my 5 Year Blogaversary

2010-05-17T11:50:00.000-07:00

5 Years...that deserves something eh? Let me think on it and put something together.

JBW Welcome

2010-05-17T10:32:00.001-07:00

I finished this little kit from JBW. I've got some Mirabilia burn out right now. Instead of picking up any of my (bajillion) Mirabilia WIP I'm trying to do some little projects to gain a sense of accomplishment.

Along those lines is my start on Just Nan's Pretty Pocket Winder

Keep A Secret

2010-05-13T07:04:00.001-07:00

I finished up this little Just Nan thingy. I made a color mistake at the end of the branches, but who cares? I wasn't gonna frog over one and who says there aren't trees with leaves that color?? I left off the ABC thing...that just didn't match in my opinion.

I also make this little scissor fob. There's something going on with the warp and weft of the fabric because it's not exactly even. I counted my backstitches repeatedly and they all lined up right so I think it has to do with the fabric and not with my backstitches. Regardless, I shall rejoice in the imperfections :) The pattern is Deux Fleurs I think from Doop Designs

I am still around

2010-04-19T07:02:00.001-07:00

I've been working on the last round robin for the current Mirabilia Round Robin I'm in. If' I'd buckle down I'd be done with it, but I'm letting myself get distracted with all kinds of stuff. I've been daydreaming about doing all the Mirabilia Pixies "yearbook style". Just little portions of them all on one piece of fabric. I'm still in the planning phase. I'm starting to wonder if I'm not a little burnt out on Mirabilia right now though. I think once I get finished with the RR I'll find something else to sort of break things up while I'm still thinking about the pixies.

Anybody have any sort of input or fantastic ideas about the B.A.P.P. (Big Ass Pixie Project)?

2 Mirabilia Round Robins

2010-03-05T09:20:00.001-08:00

I stitched Tigerlily on the bottom one. Both of these stitched up quickly. Just one more round on this Round Robin and it will be over.

Check it Out

2010-03-04T07:52:00.001-08:00

Stitching for Literacy

Dancer Finished

2010-01-27T07:34:00.001-08:00

I finished Dancer

And I finished Ink Circles' Fleur d'Orleans. I changed out the colors for Crescent Colors. And I didn't like the Soot, so I used dark blue in the purple areas and dark green in the green areas

Next up is Comet

Reindeer

2010-01-21T15:32:00.001-08:00

I finished up Rudolph and I got a good start on Dancer. I haven't added the crystals yet. I'll do that when I've finised them all. I think these will stitch up a lot faster now that I'm getting the pattern kinda memorized.

Another RR finish

2010-01-05T07:36:00.000-08:00

I stitched Circle of Friends and Sabrina for Jenn's RR.

I also got started on the much anticipated Rudolph, but I'm not finished yet.

Mirabilia RR and New Little Start

2009-11-09T07:44:00.000-08:00

I helped out Kaye a little bit and finished up her section on the Mirabilia RR. Her's is the one on top and it's from Shakespeare's Fairies. I'll be starting my section today probably.

While I was in talks with Deb, the owner of the above Round Robin, about what I was going to stitch in my section, I decided to start a little something new. It's the Santa Ice Cream cone ornament from the new Gift of Stitching magazine. I didn't have mint green fabric so I'm using Silkweaver's Spring.

Some New Starts

2009-10-26T06:43:00.000-07:00

Here's my tiny little start on Glendon Place's Give Thanks

Thanks to Kaye...I bought Blackbird Design's book Joyeux Noel. It's typically not my style. I started that cardinal design. You can do the verse in french or english. Since I live in South Louisiana I'll be doing it in French. I started it Friday night and got this much done.

And don't forget everyone Missy has a few more days left on her Halloween give away!!

Wow

2009-10-19T06:21:00.001-07:00

It's been like 3 months. That's pretty sad. I've been in a bit of a slump. I'll do better...maybe :)

Later I'll post some pictures of some new stuff I got framed, but for now I wanted to pass on that Missy is having a fun give away for Halloween.

Blackbird Design Freebie

2009-07-29T06:56:00.001-07:00

Look at me. Another freebie finish in a week! I finished it last night. It's stitched on 28 ct. Blush linen from Silkweaver. That's one of their really old colors. I doubt they still make it. The thread is Grape Juice Belle Soie from Crescent Colors. As a warning...it will dye your fingernails blue. WAIT...hold the phone LOL I didn't finish...look at that little motif that's not finished. What's wrong with me? LOL

Hmmmm

2009-07-22T10:06:00.001-07:00

At times I kinda like it. It makes me think of something old and coppery green...like I'm making an instant antique. It makes me think of New Orleans for some odd reason. I don't know why exactly. Maybe because the fabic is the color of mold maybe LOL I don't know what other color fabric I'd use with that thread though. I think white would be too light. I think it needs a dark color fabric.

Freebie Finish

2009-07-22T06:36:00.001-07:00

Freebie link is in the post below. Again stitched on Parkland linen and stitched with CC Steamed Broccoli thread. I finished it last night stitching at my LNS. I had a nice time.

I found this thread and it does match with this fabric despite the pictures. I was having a hard time getting an accurate representation on the colors. The purple in the thread is not as nearly as pronounced as it look in the picture. I'm just wondering if there's enough contrast between the thread and the fabric. I'm thinking about using it for that Ink Circles pattern in Gift of Stitching...that Rose and Brambles or whatever it's called.

Been Awhile

2009-07-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry bout that. I've actually been working for a change. Sorta LOL I finished up Kaye's Mirabilia RR. I've been working on this little freebie. I'm stitching it on 28 ct. Parkland linen from Silkweaver with Crescent Colors Steamed Broccoli. I'll post a picture when I'm done.

Monday Thursday Whatever

2009-07-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

I said I'd post a WIP pic of Circle of Friends on Monday, but here I am doing it on Thursday. How rude is that? LOL Here's what I have so far. This is a piece of Shadowbrook from Silkweaver. I asked them to make it a little darker than normal. I thought COF needed a foresty sort of look. I keep going back and forth on the blue dress. The peach dress colors and the yellow dress colors look really good with the fabric. I'm kind of iffy about the blue dress colors. I guess it'll work out in the end. The picture makes it look like the fabric kinda has an aqua undertone to it, but its definitely not, it's forest green and brown.

Weekend Stitching

2009-06-28T12:57:00.000-07:00

I have a thyroid problem and for a long time its been under control, but for the last 6 months or so it hasn't been and I've been really tired and my stitching has been kind of suffering a bit. Finally started new medication this week and I'm slowly starting to feel better. I got some quiet time Saturday and managed to not sleep it away LOL I got a good start on Kaye's RR. It will eventually be Mermaid of Atlantis.

And I worked a little more on Maria's M. I finally finished those evil wings. Now I just need to do all the backstitchy stuff and the beading. However, I just wasn't in the mood for that.

What I really wanted to do after all that was to start one of my (way too) many peacock patterns but I couldn't find fabric that was working with the patterns. So, I started Mirabilia's Circle of Friends. I'll post a picture of that tomorrow or so. I want to get several of the colors on the fabric before I get opinions on how the fabric is looking.

A Request

2009-06-26T05:53:00.000-07:00

I need some Espresso Waterlilies fairly quickly. Either about a 18" length would be great or I could trade a skein of silk or something. Any help would be appreciated!

Woux Houx

2009-06-25T06:13:00.001-07:00

Omigosh...I couldn't handle anymore. I think I can finally sleep tonight LOL

Proof

2009-06-24T06:03:00.000-07:00

I've been stitching a little bit here and there. It's a really sucky picture, but it's good enough for ransom purposes I suppose lol

The fabric is actually Silkweaver's Mountain Rose. Maria picked it out herself. She wanted it on pink fabric...so pink fabric she got. This is the 3rd Letter Fairy I've stitched and I have to say I really hate the wings on these things. I don't know what it is about them, but I just really don't like them.

Hungover

2009-06-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

I haven't been intentionally neglecting my blog. Summer + 3 kids = BUSY. Softball is FINALLY finally finally over. I couldn't handle anymore tournaments. Last week they had Cheerleading camp. Friday we had a birthday party then a cheerleading show. Then Saturday hubby took the girls swimming so I could clean the house...then just as I finished there was a huge plumbing crisis in the kitchen...water was everywhere. Ladies, I handled it all by myself without the aid of a plumber or a man LOL Go me! Sunday, church, lunch, another birthday party. That one ended up lasting 6 hours. Sitting in the sun...in South Louisiana...it was what 95 degrees yesterday? I rarely drink but when the daiquiris came out I indulged. I'm a little hungover today. But I got to know my neighbors better, got caught up on the gossip and got invited to the friday night parties that my husband always spies on LOL So, I guess it was worth it.

I have been stitching a little bit. I've been working on Mirabilia's M. I just have the wings and the beads to do and I'll be finished. And I have Kaye's Mirabilia RR now.

I'm Here

2009-06-04T06:11:00.000-07:00

I'm sooo busy. Last week we went on vacation to Orange Beach, Alabama. This week is playing catch up. I'll try to post for real when I have some time.

Vindication!

2009-05-14T05:49:00.000-07:00

That's extreme, but I got a flower! I decided a couple of months ago that I was going to grow some stuff from seeds. Everyone told me that it was difficult to do around here for every reason under the sun and just buy plants....blah blah blah. Well, they were right but I am too stubborn to listen or admit defeat. So, my first attempt was a mess. I used those little seed starter thingies and those are just stupid. The seeds washed out and sprouted everywhere but where they were supposed and died quickly. I managed to save a few. A couple of morning glories and about 4 tomato plants which are still growing...I'm curious to see if they'll produce eventually. This morning I woke up to this.

I did buy a few plants for the girls. I let them pick out their own pots and their own flowers. Poor Eva's isn't doing all that great, it needs to be repotted. Lauren and Maria's are doing well though.

And I got myself some calla lilies, but I couldn't decide where I wanted to put them in the yard and one wasn't doing well in the pot it came in so I repotted them until I decide what to do with them. These Velvet Clover were just too interesting to pass up too. They're doing well in the flower bed. I took the picture in the morning so they weren't blooming but they have cute little white flowers in the afternoons.

And proof that "Try, try again" is always the best policy and that I AM stubborn (and do always get my way eventually lol) These are various flowers and herbs...and you will notice that they ARE sprouting....IN the pots, regular pots in regular dirt LOL

And for a bonus...if someone can tell me the name of this flower...it grows in abundance down here, but I don't know what it's called. We have a huge clump of it in our yard and it's blooming like crazy right now. I'm really proud of it...not that I did anything to make it look good, but I'll take credit anyway.

Mirabilia RR Start

2009-05-11T06:22:00.001-07:00

I finally got finished with my Mirabilia Round Robin. Not finished....got it ready to be started. I finished the frames and my section last night. I chose Fairy Treasures. She has a lot of shininess to her and she's rarely stitched, so I felt bad she's left out so often. She's charted with her eyes closed and that wasn't going to work. Since she has sort of that Egyptian feel and I recently watched Cleopatra I went with that sort of eye look, I'm not entirely happy with it, but I think it'll probably grow on me. And I switched out the gold beads for purple because gold and silver just doesn't work for me. My camera batteries died, so here's a pic taken with my cellphone which isn't great, but you get the idea.

Jill Rensel Framing

2009-04-25T13:29:00.001-07:00

I sent some stuff to Jill Rensel for framing and she emailed me pics of the finished pieces.

What Happens When You Take a Day Off

2009-04-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

I took yesterday off because it was kindergarten registration day and I seemed to recall it took a long time to register Eva so I figured it would take twice as long to register 2 kids. That wasn't really true, but it was still a good reason to take a day off work.

I had pulled out my Mirabilia charts to decide what pattern I wanted to do for my round robin and decided since she was so treasure intensive I should do Blossom Harvest, but as I started pondering the chart I decided that perhaps I needed to rethink restarting it. I had started it in the past but didn't like how it was coming out. It was on 28 ct natural linen (this was in the dark days before hand dyed linen) and with all that white thread it wasn't looking good.

So I woke up yesterday with a bad case of startitis and a whole day off, minus the registration time. I pulled out Blossom Harvest and damn it all to hell I didn't have any fabric that was working! It was 8 am. I decided Marjean should be up at that time of the morning but she didn't answer her phone. Then I called Kaye told her to get her ass out of bed because I needed fabric! Isn't it great to have stitchy friends so close by? And Kaye came through. She had a lovely piece of Sugar Maple Fabric Abracadabra. We had a lovely afternoon of stitching and I got a good start on Blossom Harvest.

Rant

2009-04-20T06:43:00.000-07:00

The exclamation is "Voila!". It's French. It's not Walla or Wal-la or Wall-a or whatever other bastardization I've seen over the years. It's a V people!

HAED Attempt

2009-04-16T06:11:00.000-07:00

As for what I'm stitching now, I started Butterfly Keeper from HAED. I've never done one before and thought it was time to take up the challenge. I was doing pretty well. Until I found a section that was off. DAMN! And it was black thread on white fabric. DOUBLE DAMN! I was not a happy camper. I had to put it away for a couple of days. I finally snipped it out last night.

In the meantime I was working on the frames for the next Mirabilia RR. Yes, another one. I'm a sucker for punishment. LOL This one will go well. Missy has commanded it. Plus, I think we're all pretty sensitive to what happened last time. I have a beeeeautiful Silkweaver solo. I've been stitching them out and figuring out how to make it "shimmer induced" without making it too terribly tacky.

Venetian Opulence Finished!!

2009-04-11T13:35:00.000-07:00

After about 3 1/2 months VO is finished. I'm having issues with the pictures. I used my dad's camera and I'm not too skilled with it, it's one of those uber professional things and I'm used to like a throw away kind. I did actually iron it, but I took the pictures outside on a towel and the towel wouldn't lay flat. It's stitched on 32 ct. Rock Quarry opalescent linen from Silkweaver which is unfortunately kind of washed out in these pictures.

I found that I needed approximately 4 skeins of 3771...like 3 1/2 at least. 2 skeins 869 and 680. I also used exactly a full skein of 814 so if you're a floss waster or stitching on 28 ct. fabric you might need two of those. I got away with one pack of the 3037 beads but there were exactly 2 beads leftover. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Now I need to get it framed!

Birthday

2009-04-06T08:13:00.000-07:00

Well the girls have wrapped up birthday week. They had a blast and were spoiled rotten by everyone. I loved this pic and thought it pretty much summed up everything

I know it's been awhile...

2009-03-31T05:52:00.000-07:00

I've been stitching and stitching and stitching LOL Actually, most of my time was taken up by the fact that everyone in the family took turns being sick this month so that someone was pretty much sick for the entire month of March. Eva started softball this month as well. Stitching at the park didn't go so well, it'll be better when it's not so windy.

To make everyone who has known me since the twins were born feel old....their birthday is tomorrow....and they'll be 5 years old! I really didn't think I'd last that long with 3 kids. Early on I was pretty sure I was going to be committed.

My goal was to finish VO by today, but I didn't make that goal. If I'm persistent, hopefully only a few more days.

And if you're still reading...there's some discussion on getting another Mirabilia RR started over on the Round Robin board.

VO Update

2009-03-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

Russian Peacock....again!

2009-03-06T10:23:00.000-08:00

Remember that Russian Peacock I did awhile back? Well I managed to get the manufacturer. It's Riolis. Check out their site, they have some nice patterns/kits. However, I don't see any distributers listed. I contacted the ebay seller to order another kit for me...and she said she would...so yay! That makes me happy.

Need Some Wisdom

2009-02-27T08:53:00.000-08:00

A thread in my fabric (on Venetian Opulence) got cut some how. It's just one thread, but it's in a spot where it's not going to be covered with stitching and it's not going to be covered by the mat. It's too close to the actual stitching. So far it's not doing anything. Just sitting there behaving. Is there any kind of glue or something that I could apply to the back to keep the threads in place? I was considering some acid free tape, just a little piece. I don't know, any ideas?

Lauren's L

2009-02-22T12:04:00.001-08:00

I started this Wednesday or Thursday and finished up this afternoon. Stitched on 32 ct. Lemon Zest Lugana from Silkweaver. I made some modifications to the pattern. And I'll pass along the pattern to the first person to email me saying they want it. ***it's spoken for****

True Blue Heart

2009-02-19T09:17:00.000-08:00

I have a used chart of Just Nan's True Blue Heart that I'm willing to send to whoever wants to give it a good home. I've used the little flower and heart charms that came with it, but there are a few left over clear beads that I'll send along. Just shoot me an email at autumn.crochet@gmail.com and it'll be first come first serve.

Round Robin Goodness

2009-02-19T06:59:00.000-08:00

I finally got my act together and finished Kaye's Mirabilia RR.

Here's a pic of her entire RR

And here's Shannon's Band Sampler RR so far...

And another VO update

Jeans Rant

2009-02-17T14:35:00.000-08:00

Why is buying jeans soooo difficult? And why is there no consistency is sizing. Like size A might fit fine in one pair, be waaaay too big in another and too small in another. So frustrating. I'm 5'6". Petite jeans are way too short. Average length used to be just fine. Now I find they're way too long. And it seems like the only choices are like the skinny jeans (which would look utterly ridiculous on me) and bootcut or flare leg. Whatever happened to just plain ole straightish leg? I've been wearing Gloria Vanderbilt jeans and I'm down to one pair. After trying to find something else I went back to GV. Since I bought the old pairs I've gained like 20 lbs, yuck, but anyway...I ended up having to buy a size smaller and they're still a little TOO big. Vanity sizing has gotten a little out of hand I think. And well, I felt like I needed to indulge a bit in some more trendy type jeans and bought some Silver brand jeans. I had forgotten how nice designer jeans can feel. Like buttah.

Nashville Market

2009-02-09T06:34:00.000-08:00

I was bad. I ordered a lot. Most of the Just Nans...most of the Sweetheart Trees...and some other things LOL "Some other things" encompasses more than I wish to divulge. In short, I should have a large stash delivery sometime soon hopefully.

More VO

2009-02-04T06:48:00.000-08:00

I got tired of stitching all that brown arch area so I rewarded myself with some below the fold stitching. I think the bottom half of the dress will probably take forever.

And check out my finger. I woke up with it like that yesterday. It looks a lot worse in person LOL I suspect it's fractured, but I don't know what I did to it. I've fractured and/or broken multiple fingers multiple times. But it's straight and I can bend it at the knuckle and it really doesn't hurt unless I touch it so I'll just watch it for now.

More Mardi Gras Ball Pics

2009-01-21T05:48:00.000-08:00

There's some of me in this one. Please over look my flat hair and the fact that I might have been a wee bit tipsy by the time those pictures were taken.

Mardi Gras Ball

2009-01-19T07:21:00.000-08:00

I went to my first Mardi Gras Ball Saturday night for the Krewe of Excalibur. It was SO much fun. There's only one picture of me in this set of pictures and that was before I was dressed up (2nd pic). My mom was one of the Maids this year so she had tables to decorate and that's what I'm doing in those pictures. Here's a couple of her in the costume she wore for the Ball and this is what she will be wearing in the Parade. The feathers and all of that are all part of the costure, it's not a back drop. She keeps it all except the feather part which goes to a museum or something.

As a bit of FYI, they are the Krewe of Excalibur and their theme this year was Camelot. Each of the maids represented a song from the movie Camelot. Their costumes are reflective of the song they represent. My mom's was Remember Me or something like that LOL I'm a terrible daughter for not remembering. I'm pretty sure I'm going to join the Krewe for next year's parade. I've really enjoyed all the events I've gone to and the people I've met. It's expensive to join, but I'll figure all that out later LOL

Oh and here's my dad. The sight of him dressed up like that was really shocking LOL That's what he will wear in the parade plus a mask and hat.

VO Update

2009-01-13T18:51:00.001-08:00

Isn't she so pretty?? I'm going to have to redo the backstitching on her hand...looks a little freaky. So far I haven't made any changes other than I gave her an eyeball, it was just charted flesh color and that would have looked really freaky...and I plumped up her eyelashes. I've really enjoyed stitching on this. It's really gotten me back into stitching finally!

Venetian Opulence

2009-01-03T10:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I was feeling pretty good about my progress until I started taking some pictures. Now I'm depressed LOL I started Wednesday evening and this is my progress as of this morning. It's stitched on 32 ct. Silkweaver Rock Quarry opalescent linen.

2009-01-02T16:54:00.000-08:00

Christmas was good, New Years was good. That's about all there is to say about that. I've been stitching somewhat obsessively on Venetian Opulence since Wednesday. Hope to post a pic soon...

Blah...

2008-12-19T06:23:00.001-08:00

Christmas is so much harder as an adult...with children. I'm so tired LOL and I'm ready for Christmas to be past and it seems like it justs keeps getting farther away. Stitching has been put on hiatus for a little while.

Sneaux 2008

2008-12-12T05:58:00.000-08:00

Congratulations! You get a picture intensive post!

First the snow (please understand it hasn't snowed this much here in something like 60 years)

Yes, that is my child that is out in the wet and cold in shorts LOL If you'll notice in the next picture she does have pants on. They must have changed clothes about 20 times. Lauren and Maria watched the goings on from inside mostly.

I also stayed inside for the most part. I curled up with my Stitching Girl socks from Marjean and I think they were magic. LOL I finished up the band sampler RR that was due...yesterday. (I'll mail it express to make up for that) She wanted TW bands so I did the center part of the Renaissance Bookmark. And I also finished up the Bluebird of Joy or whatever in the new Ornament Issue. I used Fuzzy Stuff in the hat and some Mill Hill snowflakes.

And finally to reward my hard work LOL Instead of working any any other number of WIPs or Obligation Stitching, I decided to start a new project. The Peacock from Dessins DHC. The fabric is 40 ct. Atlantic Storm from Silkweaver. Threads are Carrie's Creations Slate Blue and Valdani Threads Seaside

SNOW DAY!

2008-12-11T05:32:00.000-08:00

It's actually snowing for real in South Louisiana. I've taken a lot of pictures but haven't gotten them off the camera yet. I got the girls all ready for school...we backed down the driveway and went about a block down the street and I decided that was enough of that. We turned around and went back home. Our neighbors apparently did the same thing LOL So the girls are staying home today and getting snuggly warm.

Surprise!

2008-12-05T09:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was reading an article about the new JK Rowling book (The Beetle and the Bard) coming out and I remembered looking at it on Amazon, and wondered briefly if I had preordered that or not. I decided I hadn't. But, when I got home, there it was! Apparently I did LOL Anyway, it was a cute little book. A quick read. I read it cover to cover in a couple of hours. I'm also reading Lost by Gregory Maguire. I got about halfway through and still wasn't "getting it", but decided I had invested that much effort I needed to finish it and be done with it. Finally, about 3/4 of the way through it got interesting LOL But, I was too tired to finish it up last night. I'm hoping the last little bit doesn't totally suck and ruin it all together.

And the winner is...

2008-12-04T06:10:00.000-08:00

Dianne! I don't have pictures or a randomizer to prove that, so y'all will just have to trust me LOL

Dianne...if you could email me your address at autumn.crochet@gmail.com I'll work on getting your package together.

300!!

2008-12-02T06:19:00.000-08:00

Yes, I love that movie, it's serious eye candy. But, this time it refers to my 300th blog post! That thrills me! Took quite awhile to get here. So to celebrate I think I'll do a giveaway. I don't know what it'll be yet. I think I'll kind of personalize it a bit once I know who wins. I'm not going to do anything fancy like link backs or challenging questions LOL Just post a comment to this blog entry before....let's say 8 pm (my time) Wednesday evening.

Weekend Review

2008-12-01T06:52:00.000-08:00

We had a pretty good weekend. Saturday was a lazy rainy day. We took the girls to see Bolt. I really liked that movie. The girls enjoyed it. I had a lot of time to stitch and managed to finish up this little ornament. It was a freebie from Plum Pudding Needle Arts.

Sunday we took the drive out to Covington to see my sister's new house. It's a very cute house by the way. We also took portraits for Christmas. It was outdoor which made it interesting because it was quite cold and very windy. The girls helped her decorate her Christmas tree...which translates into sort of watched her decorate the tree while her boyfriend showed us how to play various games on their Wii.

Then they took us to a park near their house to kill some time until it got dark so we could see their enchanted forest. They cleared a bunch of paths through their wooded lot and strung it all up with lights. It was really awesome. The girls loved it.

And we got to meet her new dog Shelby. They have two others. Shelby is a great dane that is not quite albino, but has some pigment issues as you can see from her eyes....and she's deaf. I got a laugh out of her Hitler moustache.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T16:15:00.000-08:00

We had a pretty nice Thanksgiving. Maria made more pumpkin muffins and Eva made sugar cookies (that translates into I made muffins and cookies and others took the credit lol). I was bad and started a new ornament yesterday while I was waiting between batches. If I work on it tonight, I might finish it tomorrow.

I'm going to brave the early morning shoppers with my oldest daughter and mom. Should be interesting. I'm going get a Nintendo Wii for the family Christmas present. Sam's has a good price on a family bundle so we're going to get there early and take advantage of their complimentary breakfast.

Christmas Tree

2008-11-24T06:29:00.000-08:00

We put up our Christmas Tree over the weekend. We were going to be busy for the next few weekends so I decided that we could go ahead and put it up. We go with the artificial trees. My old 5' one had pretty much bitten the dust last year. The cats liked to climb up in it and the limbs aren't meant to carry that much weight. We got a 9' tree this year. Yikes! Thank goodness for cathedral ceilings! I can't put the angel on top. LOL I need to figure out how I'm going to do that. (for you people that check out picture backgrounds, that's the tree box in the hall and the corner of Lady of the Flag behind the tree lol )

And I got myself a few peacock ornaments this year. Here's one that I think is really cute.

Pretty Peacocks

2008-11-18T09:19:00.001-08:00

This was a quick stitch. About 3 days of stitching. Probably less if I hadn't been quite so distracted. It's Pretty Peacocks by Sallie Ann Designs. There are supposed to be beads in the tail but I'm leaving those out. I'm gonna use the band across a pillow. It's 27 ct. Natural Banding and I used 3 strands of...ummmm...it was a Thread Gatherer silk, but I can't remember which color it was.

Blogger

2008-11-17T06:27:00.000-08:00

I love the new "Following" feature. That makes things soooo much easier! It's such a nifty little feature especially in the wake of Blogrolling apparently biting the dust.

Yesterday was Eva's 7th Birthday Party. She really had a lot of fun. A lot of kids showed up and and she got a lot of cute presents. I was a little worried whether or not she'd actually like the little purse I got her but turned out she really liked it. So Yay Me!

Now I need to start focusing on Christmas. I have the luxury of not having to worry about Thanksgiving. We're just a "show up" family LOL That's not true. I usually bring something, but it's not something that's usually a big deal to cook.

All Done

2008-11-14T07:01:00.000-08:00

Finished the Twilight Saga. I read all 4 books in what? 2 weeks? LOL So they were pretty good. I really enjoyed the story. I found some aspects to be a little predictable, but maybe that's because I'm an adult and they were geared more towards teens. Not to give away anything but I kinda felt like the end left it open for another series to be created with 2 different main characters.

I got Sophia's RR in the mail yesterday for the band sampler RR. She's doing a TW theme. I'm gonna do the middle out of the Renaissance Bookmark. I've done that in the past when I was in a TWRR. It turns out beautiful.

Slow Day

2008-11-11T07:08:00.000-08:00

Work is a little slow today. I'm feeling a little better. I knew it was going to be slow so I brought my active WIPs with me. I thought I'd share some pictures.

First...which really ought to be my priority...but I always seem to find something else to work on. Kaye's Mirabilia RR. That's Fairy Flora. Not too much left to do on it, but there are a ton of beads on there.

Next up is Violet from the Pixie Couture Collection. I have some negativity associated with this piece. If I finish it, it will be a miracle.

Something is going wrong with my camera and my fabric here. This is my start on "Something Wicked This Way Comes". The fabric is really dark brown. Not green. It's like dirt brown. In fact...it's from Silkweaver Secrets of Nature series called Earth. But it is heavily mottled as the picture indicates. I thought it was fitting for the pattern.

Finally I started the Sweetheart Tree Holly Fob, but I think I'll be using it for an ornament instead of a scissor fob.

Ink Circles Ornament

2008-11-10T15:41:00.000-08:00

I have a terrible cold and an ear infection I'm pretty sure. However, I'm trying to tough it out and cut down on my antibiotic use. I'm doing a little better today than I was yesterday. I did finish up this little ornament this weekend. It's the Ink Circles 2006 Ornament. I'll send out the chart to whoever emails me (autumn dot crochet at gmail dot com) first. The fabric is 32 ct. Tobacco (I think) and the thread is Carrie's Creations Raven.

Peacock

2008-11-04T19:40:00.000-08:00

I have a slight peacock obsession. Peacocks and Scissors. Those are my two "things". Generally I go for the graceful, elegant type peacock designs, but I ran across this kit on ebay and it made me smile. It only took about 2 days stitching. I used the thread from the kit, which wasn't DMC I don't think. It was actually a fairly nice thread. I wondered what it was but the instructions and everything was entirely in Russian so I don't know. I used 22 ct. hardanger fabric so it would be fairly small. It's about 3" by about 4".

Twilight

2008-11-03T10:44:00.001-08:00

Well I read the first book in about a 24 hour time period. It's safe to say I'm addicted now LOL Dammit I hate when I get on bandwagons!

New Glasses

2008-11-01T13:58:00.000-07:00

Eva failed her eye test at school so we made a trip to the eye doctor. Poor kid was fairly blind. Fortunately the doctor said that aside from having astigmatism, he felt like her other problems would eventually go away through further development of her eyesight. So we picked out glasses. She looks so adorable in them. They're black, but they have a thin purple line around the edge so it makes them look dark purple and the color is really flattering to her. Thankfully she really enjoys wearing them and loves all the compliments she gets on them.

Lauren of course had to get in on the picture taking. That child is a camera hog.

And just to make sure all is fair....here's a picture of Maria and I

2008-10-23T08:10:00.000-07:00

I'm dealing with a personal difficulty, that I'd really rather not discuss, but it's a frustrating situation for me. I'm trying to bury myself in anything that might take my mind off of it. Any new books or movies I should watch? I still have so much stitching to get caught up on, but that's just not doing it for me right now.

Sweetheart Tree Round Robin

2008-10-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, this was a round robin from a while back. I think it was stitched in 2006/2007, but since I actually finished it up in 2008 I thought I better put that date on it. Wouldn't want to cheat or anything like that LOL Sorry about the wrinkly fabric. I don't trust my iron right now. Until I get a new one there will be no ironing of stitching.

What Have I Been Up To?

2008-10-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

In a word (or two) not much. I don't think I've finished anything since E. I've been working on Mirabilia's Violet pixie. I got a little burnt out on it though. I'm doing another round robin. Any designer band sampler this time. I got a pretty good start on it. Enough to send it out anyway. First mailing isn't until the 29th. I also started Beloved but I can't decide if I'm happy with it. I'm using one strand of Belle Soie Noir on PTP 36 ct. Fog. I'm debating whether or not I like the coverage.

E Happy Dance

2008-09-14T07:44:00.000-07:00

Stitched on 28 ct. Bo Peep Pink Linen

Home

2008-09-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

We're back. Our power came back on far earlier than expected. We theorize it's because we live almost across the street from the elementary school. We did all our grocery shopping in Mississippi so I think we're in pretty good shape. I shopped anticipating a hit from Ike as well. Very few perishibles and lots of comfort foods LOL Hubby registered us with FEMA while we were in Biloxi so if we need to leave again we can stay in an approved hotel for free or at a reduced rate or something. Here's a picture from our back yard...

Before

After

And my most favorite little hangout/restaurant/bar/boat launch...pretty much destroyed. The river is extremely high right now. I've never seen it so flooded.

evacuation

2008-09-04T16:43:00.000-07:00

we lasted about 48 hrs with no power and hauled ass to biloxi. hubby and i have taken two trips to beau rivage casino this summer. he called yesterday morning to see if they were open and they were so he made reservations until sunday.

we fared well through the storm. no damage to our house or any other relative's house. the damage in the area is extensive. it was worse, far worse, for our area than katrina. whenever the electric company guy for our area comes on the new he says we need to expect weeks and not days in terms of being without power. that's highly distressing.

anyway we're all doing ok for now.

Gustav

2008-08-31T08:20:00.000-07:00

Looks like Gustav is indeed gonna hit S. Louisiana directly. If anyone is curious Google Port Vincent, LA and that's pretty much where I live. We were advised to evacuate this morning via Community Alert, but we're staying here and my parents are staying here (and they have the RV...and the generator). I've been in my "Impending Crisis Mode" all week so I think we're pretty well set. We're well stocked in terms of food, batteries, water, etc. I'm not so concerned about the storm or flooding directly, mainly just being without power for an extended period of time. The representative of our electric company was on the news this morning and he said that we could possibly expect outages in terms of weeks. I was sitting there thinking "Don't say things like that you bastard!!" LOL Anyway, we did ok during Katrina and Rita, while I expect this to be worse, I'm sure we'll come through this one ok too. We'll likely lose power tonight or early in the morning so I'll check back in on the other side.

Oh and on a stitching note I started Eleanor or "E" from Letter's by Nora (aka Mirabilia) and I'm about half through already. Might be done before the hurricane is over!

Anagram Les Ciseaux

2008-08-29T06:47:00.000-07:00

Another finish! I don't have the picture on this computer, but here's a link to the Mirabilia Board where I posted a pic last night.

Linky

And Here She Is

2008-08-25T08:13:00.000-07:00

Watch this Space

2008-08-20T08:21:00.001-07:00

I should have a Halloween Fairy HD soon...

Progress

2008-07-07T09:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I stood in my stash closet for awhile and stared at everything. I shifted a few things around but it didn't necessarily get "cleaned". After much deliberation I pulled out my Mother's Tree. I got about 2 numbers of one date stitched and decided that was enough of that. No, not really, I got distracted by the stuff I always get distracted by...kids, housework, internet...

Which Approach?

2008-06-26T09:07:00.000-07:00

I relieved myself of the RR...and I do feel much relieved by that. Thanks to Kathy for offering to do the extra section! She really is such a sweet lady.

Now...I'm completely relieving myself of the guilt associated with having too many WIPs. I kinda feel like I need a fresh start. However, I can't decide if that should include completely cleaning out and reorganizing my stash closet or if I should just wade through the mess until inspiration hits. I started cleaning it out a few weeks ago and came up with a huge bag of charts and magazines I didn't want anymore. Perhaps if I clean more I can declutter more and thus feel less guilty about having such a messy stash closet. Or perhaps I should just stop babbling and sit down and stitch instead of using this as an excuse to procrastinate.

Progress

2008-06-23T17:14:00.000-07:00

I admitted defeat and told Marjean that I just couldn't do her RR. I had already done most of one section, this was an extra section I was going to do. So I'm passing it along to someone else. There's still an open section if anyone wants to do it LOL

I Can't Do It

2008-06-19T08:24:00.000-07:00

I can't get out of this stitching slump. I have one project that only needs like a couple days of work on it and I'd be done with it, but no....I just sit there and look at it hoping one day it'll be magically finished. I still have poor Marjean's Mirabilia RR and I haven't hardly worked on it either.

I'm having a little bit of negativity towards Mirabilia RRs right now. I don't think mine is coming back ever. I'm really not all that upset about it. I'm not angry or anything like that. I'm just disappointed I guess. I don't even care if this woman hasn't stitched on it. Just mail it back to someone...don't keep it. If something happened to it, just tell me, I don't care. I just hate not knowing and having to assume the worst.

Peacock Heart

2008-05-19T18:23:00.000-07:00

I actually finished something. I haven't had a finish in quite awhile. In fact, it's been so long I had to go find something old to remember how to make my signature. Do symmetrical designs suck or what? There is just no room for fudging.

This is a freebie which can be found here. I used Gloriana Deep Blue Sea on some kind of mystery whitish fabric. I think it's 32 ct. Lugana but that's just a guess.

Mother's Day

2008-05-12T06:10:00.000-07:00

I had a pretty nice day. I woke up to breakfast in bed. I got a potted hyacinth and card from Eva and Hubby. Lauren and Maria made these flower pens that were in a painted terra cotta pot. They were really cute. We went to church and I got flowers there. Then we had a crawfish boil and went swimming. Overall it was a good day. I was pretty exhausted.

Pictures

2008-05-07T06:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some new pictures of the kids. Excuse me, "The Girls", everyone refers to them as The Girls. It always makes me laugh because even at school and stuff people always know which girls are "The Girls". And I think there's one or two of me in there too.

2008 Pictures

.

Am I back?

2008-05-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna try to be back. I've been in a stitching slump for such a long time. Not much has inspired me lately. And it can't be just me, but are all the boards just so uneventful? I have one more section to do on a Mirabilia RR and all that will be completely done. I've been neglecting it horribly, but I'm waiting on some thread I ordered. Yes, that's my excuse. In the meanwhile, I've been working on Anagram Diffusions Les Ciseaux. Just plain ole white fabric and plain ole DMC thread. I used the scanner so it's crooked and the colors aren't quite right, but you get the idea.

I REALLY am still alive

2007-09-12T07:07:00.000-07:00

I've been very absent lately and I feel really bad about it. Things have just been very hectic at home and work has picked up considerably.

Not much stitching. I'm in the Mira RR on the WWRRB. So, mainly I'm just trying to keep up with that as best as I can.

I'm going to try to be better about posting...no promises though! LOL

I am alive

2007-04-02T06:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been gone so long. I don't know why. I've been busy at work and at home. I haven't been stitching. I guess I just haven't had much to say. Lauren and Maria's birthday was yesterday. They're three! Here are some pictures. Hopefully I'll have a stitching HD soon. I need to get caught up on my RRs!

Happy Mardi Gras

2007-02-20T05:51:00.000-08:00

I'm at work today and it really sucks. However, I'm enjoying some Mardi Gras music. Here's a pretty good list if you want to check out some of the sounds of the season. They All Asked (Axed) for you is one of my particular favorites. And it's not MG with out Mardi Gras Mambo!

Mardi Gras

2007-02-19T07:22:00.000-08:00

We did our Mardi Grasing this weekend. Saturday we went to Spanish Town Parade in Baton Rouge. That's a satirical parade and it's pretty risque. There was much putting down of Nick Saban, Gov. Blanco, Ray Nagin and William Jefferson. I saw way too many pictures of Britney Spears' naked crotch. We had a fantastic time though. Lauren and Maria fell asleep and I handed them off to my mom and husband. I put Eva on my shoulders and we got a ton of junk. We had so many throws when we left there, we could barely even carry it all back to the car.

I was going to go to New Orleans by myself on Sunday, but I ended up going with my parents, my aunt, and I relented and let Eva come with me. James and the twins stayed home. The day parades were great. We were on St. Charles St. in a perfect location and we got there early enough that we got primo spots right on the curb. We saw Okeanos, Thoth, and Mid-City during the day. Then there was this really short little weird parade of very scantily clad people playing very bizarre instruments. It was really entertaining. Then we decided to stay for Bacchus, James Gandolfini and Drew Brees were the King and Grand Marshall. That parade wasn't as much fun. They weren't throwing heavy and it was moving really fast. We left early, but once we got to the car we were blocked in by about 4 cars so we had to wait for all those people to show up so we could leave. It wasn't too bad though. Eva got a CD from one of the floats so we listened to Mardi Gras music and got warm. It was so cold. Then we went through all the stuff Eva got. I swear she got about 3 dozen stuffed animals.

It was a good weekend. I'm really sore from holding Eva on my shoulders so much and I'm sunburnt and my lips are burnt and I can't get my finger nails clean, but it was well worth it!

Nuthin Much

2007-02-13T06:07:00.000-08:00

There's just not much going on. This weekend we didn't do too terribly much. Saturday we all went to the health club. I'm not liking the situation going on over there. They're undergoing massive renovations so they have all the cardio machines in what used to be the free weights room. It's pretty packed in there and the mirrors are everywhere. There's only one little tv, so basically all you have to look at is yourself and everyone else in the mirror. It's really unnerving. Our company is doing some of the work so I asked what the completion date is supposed to be, and it's like 2 months away at least. I'm determined to not let this distract me.

Friday I finished up a little stitching project, but I can't share it yet. Sunday I stitched just a little tiny bit. That's about it. The weather has been really nice so we've been outside all afternoon most days.

Watching the Sun Set

2007-02-07T16:30:00.000-08:00

Here's the view from my back yard. That's our cat Angel. You'll notice his true self is showing through his devil eyes.

Rick Who?

2007-02-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

The other day I was digging through a box of old letters. I found a whole ton...well like 12-15 notes and cards from someone that I can not remember for the life of me. They were from like 10-11 years ago. I have a vague feeling he was a pilot maybe? I can't recall anything else about him! How weird is that? I really think I have some sort of amnesia from that time in my life.

Still no stitching...

Work is a little slow

2007-02-06T08:28:00.000-08:00

You are 67% Libra

How Libra Are You?

Hmmm...isn't this ironic?

You Belong in Summer

Energetic, creative, and very curious about the world...
You're not going to let anything hold you back, especially a cold day.
Whether you're chilling out at the beach or partying all night, you live for the warm weather.

What Season Are You?

I don't know. I think I'm pretty selfish

Your Love Number is 2

Of all the numbers, you are the most caring and empathetic lover.
Unselfish and humble, you find it easy to forgive your sweetie's mistakes.
At times, your need to please can be come a bit too needy.
As long as you remain somewhat independent, your relationships are perfectly balanced.

What Is Your Love Number?

Your Linguistic Profile:

45% General American English

30% Dixie

15% Yankee

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Still no stitching

2007-02-06T06:24:00.000-08:00

I didn't stitch last night at all. I got a very nice phone call instead.

I did have a good mail day! I got some lovely marking pins from WhizGidget for the Pay it Forward challenge. I'm having camera issues so I don't have a picture yet. And I finally got an order from Stitching Bits and Bobs that I've been waiting on forever! I got a bunch of silks, a few kreiniks, and 2 Papillon Creations charts, St. Sophia and Year's End.

Weekend Update

2007-02-05T05:54:00.000-08:00

Not much going on. I went out to dinner with Marjean and Karen Saturday night. Then we had a high ole time at the Wal-Mart. I didn't stitch much at all this weekend. I'm having trouble with my fore arms hurting. They're feeling kind of better today, so maybe I needed to take a break.

Day Off

2007-01-31T07:28:00.000-08:00

I took today off. I decided to let Eva stay home from daycare today. So the girls and I are hanging out at home today. It's actually not raining right now, but it's cold and wet and it's supposed to rain at some point today. I'm so tired of this!

I don't know what the hell happened to BlogPatrol, so found a new stats counter. It looks sort of sad sitting down there all little.

I'm still in my really bored phase. Nothing's working and I've been shopping which is bad! I haven't actually really spent a lot of money so it's not terrible. Although the scandal over Theresa's tattoo was pretty entertaining LOL I was wondering if that poor little boy was going to have a heartattack when she started taking off her uniform shirt. Ha ha ha ha!

Biscornu Received

2007-01-30T09:37:00.000-08:00

Angi got the biscornu I sent her so now I can show it off. I really loved this one! The pattern is Bee Pinkeep from the January issue of Gift of Stitching. It's stitched on a Silkweaver solo that's sort of sky looking.

Snaggletooth

2007-01-29T09:47:00.000-08:00

Eva lost her first tooth on the 23rd. She was pretty proud. It's not the best picture, but it's about the best I can get. She doesn't act normal when I'm trying to take pictures. She has to pose. And then everyone else has to get involved and it always turns into a huge photoshoot. Here's a few more pictures from that day.

Let's see. I haven't progressed much on LotM. I got sucked into the Mirabilia RR: Round Two. So I prepped and gridded my fabric for that. And I've been working on another little secret project. I've finished my part on it.

That's about it! Oh, I got my first Mirabilia RR back on Saturday, but I need to do a little work on it. Then I'll post a picture.