No pics :(, but a medical update

I have no stitching pictures to show because I've done absolutely no stitching. THANK YOU to everyone who has prayed for me and wished me well concerning my kidney stone. I've had surgery twice in the last 3 weeks and have been admitted to the hospital 3 times for pain control. I finally passed the stone one week ago but my symptoms have not gone away. So my doctor is now trying to figure out if there's more going on than just residual pain from damage the stone caused. I've tried to not be discouraged but I've had moderate to severe kidney pain for almost 6 weeks and it is wearing me down.

Again, thank you to all who've sent me comments. They always bring a smile to my face.

St. Pete's

Here is my pathetic progress on St. Pete's. I will still give the excuse of my kidney stone though. Yesterday I was in just horrible pain but there is nothing the doctor's can do except wait until Friday to do the surgery to get the stent and the kidney stone out. I actually had been improving pain wise, so yesterday really caught me off guard. I hate being sick and off my feet. It would be nice if I could stitch but I just can't concentrate because of the pain.

I've been enjoying reading your blogs but I've left few comments for which I apologize. With all the medication I'm on it's hard to put thoughts together sometimes. Hopefully once my kidney stone is removed I will quickly be back to my old self and can leave the comments I'd like to leave on your blogs.

Thank you for your prayers and kind words so many have sent.

"The guardian angels of life sometimes fly so high as to be beyond our sight, but they are always looking down upon us."

Udate on Noah and a RAK

This is how far I am on Noah. I haven't picked up anything to stitch since my surgery. I managed to get a little bit more done on this before my surgery though.

Speaking of my surgery, the doctor was not able to get the kidney stone. He ended up putting in a stent to dilate the are where the kidney stone is sitting and I have to go back to surgery on the 19th to have the stent and the stone removed. Hopefully that will be the end of this ordeal ;)

I received a beautiful RAK from Tracy. I love this pattern. I actually have the linen it calls for, I just need to pick out what thread I want to stitch it in. I did a floss toss this morning but I need 40 yards of thread and don't have that much in my stash. So I think I might go looking for a pretty variegated silk. Will show a pic when I've found what I want.

Thank you Tracy, that was so sweet of you.

"Cheerfulness is among the most laudable virtues. It gains you the good will and friendship of others. It blesses those who practice it and those upon whom it is bestowed."

Mermaids

I have finished Mermaid #1's tail, except for the beads, and I've started on Mermaid #2 where she crosses under #1. I had hoped to be so much farther along on this piece, but at this point I'm not sure I'll even get them finished by the end of the year.

I'm still having problems with a kidney stone. I have surgery scheduled for this coming Tuesday. Any prayers that you want to send up are appreciated.

Thank you!

"Our Creator would never have made such lovely days and have given us the deep hearts to enjoy them, above and beyond all thought, unless we were meant to be immortal."

Cheaper than Therapy

Here's the small amount of stitching that I've done. Very pathetic!! The mojo just isn't there. Although I'm still dealing with a kidney stone and it looks like I'm going to have to have surgery to have it removed, so I guess I'll use that as an excuse for not wanting to stitch :).

Thank you for the blog awards that people have blessed me with. I just don't have it in me to forward those awards on to other people. I enjoy EVERYONE'S blogs.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!!

"Trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to his love, and the future to his providence."

Noah

Well, it's been a long time since I've posted. My posting mojo left with my stitching mojo.

I've been struggling with a kidney stone since Tuesday so I haven't felt much like stitching, too uncomfortable. I'm having more xrays done on Monday and will have some options laid out for me on Wednesday when I see the urologist again.

Also, my daughter had plastic surgery on her lip yesterday. She had to have a scar revision done and a mole removed that the doctor's have been concerned about. She's a trooper though, her lip looks pretty scary but she's holding her head high and planning on going to the first day of school this Monday, she's only 12 years old, so I'm feeling pretty proud of her.

Above is my progress on "Noah". Not much to show. I do need to clarify that this piece is not ALL 1/1. Most of it is 1/2. Those 1/1 areas are still killing me though on this 40ct linen.

Thanks for stopping by, I always appreciate it.

"In good times and bad, we need friends who will pray for us, listen to us, and lend a comforting hand and an understanding ear when needed."

Cheaper Than Therapy

Still running pretty low on stitching mojo. This was all I was able to accomplish yesterday. Funny, the pattern actually says "Stitching is cheaper than therapy....but not if done right." But what I have here "stitching is therapy" is true too.

It continues to rain here. I think it's rained 30+ days straight. I'm actually a person who likes rain, but this is a little excessive. I'd like to see the sun for more than an hour at a time.

"We are so very rich if we know just a few people in a way in which we know no others."

Finally picked up St. Petersburg again

I made myself pick up St. Petersburg today, but I wasn't able to finish part 6. I actually started part 7 because part 6 is so boring. Repeating a design 4 times makes it difficult to work on a design, for me anyways. So upper left corner is the start of part 7 and I actually enjoyed stitching it :). I don't think I've ever worked on a piece that I've struggled so much with. I think this will help to move further into the design without completely finishing each corner.

Over all I'm not stitching very much though. The mojo just isn't there.

We bought a Wii fit that I'm having a blast with. I've actually lost a few pounds, yeah.

"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."

The desire of my heart is for my daughter to come back to the Lord and come home to us.

First time dying linen

Well, I spent the afternoon with a friend dying linen. This is the first time either one of us has ever done this. I read lots of blogs and other websites about dying linen to be prepared. We dyed with RIT dye but found out that bleach was our best friend. LOL!! We had some real disasters going and bleach saved us.

We are both fanatics about stitching on hand-dyed linens, this sure is cheaper. My favorites are the two in the top picture, especially the one on the left.

All of these are 36 ct edinborough except the peachy one in the bottom picture, that one was a cheap piece of 28ct monaco.

The two best RIT colors were tan and cocoa brown.

Thanks to everyone who sent kind comments about my family situation. They are very appreciated.

"No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has emerged from the kingdom of night."

Noah/Struggles and trials

Here is an update on Noah. The more I stitch this the more I know I don't want to stitch on 40ct again, nor 1/1 again ;). I am really shocked at how poor my eyesight has become.

Thanks for all the nice comments about my Mermaid(s).

Struggles and trials have become a normal part of my life for the past year and a half. I never realized you could feel so many emotions (often at the same time). These struggles have to do with my oldest daughter, whom I love so much. This past year and half has taught me that I would LITERALLY give up my life for her to get herself back on track. You always hear people say they would die for their kids. But I KNOW I would die for any one of mine. We received more distrubing news about our wayward daughter last night and I think I cried 2 pounds of tears. On my good days I KNOW that God is in control, and that he knows what is going on in my daughter's life. It's so hard to remember God's greatness in times of difficulty and yet he should be our biggest comfort. How disappointing I must be to God because I do not trust in Him the way I should. But God uses trials to make us better people for him. Apparently I need a lot of work since he keeps giving us more to deal with.

I leave you with the verse below, knowing this is my time for weeping.

"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die...a time to weep, and a time to laugh."

Mermaids

Well I picked up my mermaids this weekend. I did a fair amount of beading although it isn't noticeable (rats)! I worked mainly on her tail fin. I'm close to being able to start on Mermaid #2.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. My son is feeling much better, thanks to all who wished him well.

"Don't just get older, get better. Live realistically. Give generously. Adapt willingly. Trust fearlessly. Rejoice daily."

A new start and 2 awards ;)

I have been awarded the Brillante Weblog Award by Dawn @ Golden Angels Works. Thank you!! Here are the rules:

1) Put the logo on your blog
2) Add a link to the person who awarded you
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4) Add links to those blogs on yours
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

I nominate the following: (I could actually nominate everyone).

1. Carla @ CC's Stitching Diary
2. Lynn @ Kearnels Korner
3. Deb @ Lavender Rose Ramblings
4. Teejay @ Passion of My Needle
5. Suzanne @ Squazi and the Chicken
6. Debby @ Stitch Wizard
7. Kim @ These Are The Days

I was also awarded the Kreative Blogger Award by Noreen @ Needle Caboodle.

Thank you Noreen. Here are the rules:

1. The winner may put the logo on her blog.
2. Put a link to the person you got the award from.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Put links to the blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees.

I nominate the following: (again I could nominate everyone)

1. Vonna @ The Twisted Stitcher

2. Karoline @ Karolines Corner

3. Karen @ Karen's Place in Web Space

4. Monique @ Inside Number Twenty

5. Kathryn @ Threads of Desire

I know a lot of people don't participate in these awards and if you don't want to participate that's fine. I am literally amazed at and enjoy EVERYONE'S blogs. I think this is a good opportunity to open up new blogs to people.

While I was on vacation I did start a very small project. It's called "Cheaper than Therapy" by My Big Toe Designs. I'm doing it on a 32 ct Silkweaver Solo with WDW and GAST threads. I changed the thread colors so they would match the linen better.

I am basically done with my daughter's bedroom (just need to buy new curtains and hang them) so I'm going to make myself sit down and stitch this afternoon. I'm not sure what I'll pick up, will probably just look in my WIP's basket and see who's hollering the loudest.

This is absolutely the longest post I've ever posted. Thanks if you made it to this point.

Have a great weekend.

"Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when he delights in our way; though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the Hand."

A finish.......I think ;)

It's been forever since I posted because it's been forever since I've stitched!! Technically I finished Maude Eloise last week when we were away on vacation, but the design is just a tad too small for the frame I want to put it in. So I have to decide if I'm going to have the frame cut down or put a border around the design to make it bigger.

Life has been very hectic and unpredictable and I have completely lost my stitching mojo.

I'm still trying to finish the redecorating of my daughter's room. But paint won't dry when it's 96 degrees with 80% humidity. I'm actually posting while I'm waiting for a wall to dry so I can put the last coat of paint on it. I'm also painting furniture. And of course all of her bedroom furniture is sitting in our living room. So you can barely maneuver around our house.

And to add to all of this my son left Sunday for a mission trip that's 4 hours away and he's been sick since Monday. My husband left a few hours ago to go and get him, 4 hours to get there, then 4 hours to get back. Like I said life is so unpredictable. I'm sure I'll be taking him to the doctors tomorrow. I think he probably has strep throat :(.

We did have a super vacation. Rented a house that was right on the ocean. Gorgeous!! It was so relaxing.

I'm slowly getting caught up on everyone's blogs. Boy, you guys post a lot. I never have that much to say :).

"I have seen what a laugh can do. It can transform almost unbearable tears into something bearable, even hopeful."

Miss Mermaid

I haven't had much time to work on any stitching projects, but I think I've made enough progress on my mermaid to post a pic. I still enjoy working on her, but I'm not keeping up with the beading as I had planned, so I'm starting to feel a little anxious about that. The next time I work on her I've told myself I'll have to work on some of the beading. I do want to finish this piece by the end of the year and I think I'll be able to reach that goal.

This coming week I'm going to redecorate my youngest daughter's room. I'll be removing the wallpaper and painting her walls. We went out this morning so she could pick out her bedspread, at the price of $100, yikes!!! I'm going to choose the paint and border for her room from the colors in her bedspread.

Happy 4th of July to everyone.

"God has not promised us an easy journey, but he has promised us a safe journey."

Update on Noah

Here is my 40ct piece. The other half of this 40ct piece I will be using to do one of the other sunday school lessons in this series, and that will be the end of working on 40ct I believe :). I'm doing "ok" with 1/2 but the 1/1 is killing me. My eyesight just is not good enough to work on linen this small.

Everyone is working on such pretty pieces. I love visiting your blogs and try to comment as much as possible. I appreciate everyone who visits mine.

"God understands our prayers even when we can't find the words to say them."

Maude

Here's my update on Maude Eloise. I still really enjoy stitching on this piece. I'm very close to being done. Maybe a couple of more weeks and it will be finished :).

We finally have our pool clear enough to swim in it. Of course the horrible heat wave that we had is gone and it's almost too cold to swim now.

Thank you all for the encouraging comments, they are appreciated.

"God is not an elusive dream or a phantom to chase, but a divine person to know. He does not avoid us, but seeks us. When we seek him, the contact is instantaneous."

Update on St. Petersburg

Well, since the kids are out of school I've barely done any stitching. We're trying hard to get our pool to the point of being able to swim in it, it still has a lot of algae in it. I took the kids to a driving range this morning to hit golf balls which was a lot of fun.

This is how far I am on St. Petersburg White Nights. This is going so slowly but at least I'm working on it. It is a stunning piece but it will probably take me another full year to finish it.

Thanks to everyone who gave me tips and websites to go to for dying linen. A friend and myself are going to give it a try, this should be very interesting :).

"Sometimes we see things not as they are but as we are: Love brings understanding."

She's growing

Well my mermaid is definitely growing. She is still fun to work on, although I made a counting error somewhere and today I was able to compensate around it. Took a while to make everything match up, but I did it.

I want to try and dye my own linen, but have never done it. I've gotten some tips from Vonna's blog using RIT. Can anyone else give me some tips or directions, even if you point me to somewhere on the internet.

Thanks so much.

"Sweet is the smile of home; the mutual look when hearts are of each other sure."

A New Start

I had a friend over last night to do some stitching and I always seem to start something new after I've stitched with her. She has about 12 different projects going all at once, I see that and *shabang* I start something new. This is a series put out by Plum Street Samplers called Stories To Live By. This one is Noah. I'm doing this on 40ct R&R Daily Grind. This is the first time I've stitched on 40ct and my eyes are struggling (even with a dazor light and magnifier). I love to stitch on 36ct and I didn't think there'd be that much of a difference but there is. And..... there's 1/1 in this piece. Yikes, the 1/1 over makes the 1/2 seem very easy!!

My friend has a wonderful listening ear. This past year has been extremely difficult for me and I spent most of last night crying on her shoulder about it. I hate it when I do that, but some people are so easy to talk to. Thank you my friend :)

I take the quote at the end of my post to heart.

"I want to learn to live each moment and be grateful for what it brings, asking no more."

Update on Maude

I'm making great progress on Maude Eloise 1891. I love this piece. It's such an easy piece to pick up and work on. I have several more Blackbird Designs in my stash and may need to stitch another one.

Today is the last day of school for my kids. I love having them around the house but they certainly cut into my stitching time. But they're definitely worth more than stitching :)

"Today, see if you can stretch your heart and expand your love so that it touches not only those to whom you can give it easily, but also those who need it so much."

Mermaid has more beads

I have been stitching pretty good on my mermaid(s). I've started beading her body. Boy, there are tons of beads. I'm so glad I'm beading as I go. Otherwise I know I'd get her (them) all stitched up and never bead her (them).

I have the strongest desire to start something new (again)! I'm sort of pushing to get Maude Eloise done so then I wouldn't feel guilty about starting another project :).

"The human heart, at whatever age, opens only to the heart that opens in return."

Maude Eloise

I have found lots of time to work on Maude Eloise this week. I actually didn't work on St. Petersburg at all (as I should have), which gave me more time for this piece. Blackbird Designs are so much fun to stitch, I just can't seem to keep my hands off of this one.

Thanks for all the nice comments on MOTDB, I'm still enjoying her a lot too.

My teenage son has 3 friends over this weekend and I think one of them has broken his wrist. Of course since he is a teenager he is saying it isn't bothering him (because he doesn't want to leave all the fun), but I'm going to need to call his mom.

This is a long weekend in the states (Memorial Day), I hope everyone has a nice one.

"A cheerful friend is like a sunny day, which sheds its brightness all around."

More of the mermaid

Here is my progress on Mermaids of the Deep Blue. This is an enjoyable stitch, inspite of all the beading. My daughter is loving watching her grow. I've realized that even though I have several projects going I am only posting pics on two of them. My St. Petersburg is too boring to keep posting on the repetitive corners being done. I probably won't post on that again until I'm done all 4 corners of part 6.

One of my other projects is a secret stitch and the person I'm stitching it for reads my blog so I can't post any pics.

So I hope you don't ge too tired of Maude Eloise and my Mermaids.

"When we obey him, every path he guides us on is fragrant with his lovingkindness and his truth."

Maude Eloise 1891

I am absolutely loving this piece. I could stitch on this every day but I am trying to stay with my rotation, which means I only get to work on this piece once a week. I love the colors in it, very pretty.

I need to catch up on blogs today. I don't know how you guys blog so often. The weekend is coming up, have a good one.

"We have been in God's thought from all eternity, and in his creative love, his attention never leaves us."

Beads, Beads and.......more Beads!!!

I am having so much fun stitching this piece, but those beads..... yikes!! I am glad I'm beading as I go because there are tons of them. I love the linen I am stitching this on, it is so perfect for this design.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

"Love is a fruit, in season at all times and within the reach of every hand. Anyone may gather it and no limit is set."

St. Petersburg Update

This is part VI on St. Petersburg. I just need to finish the gates on the house on the left and I'll be done with this corner at this point. Just 3 more corners to go for this part. It felt kind of good to be stitching on this again. I'm going to try and pick it up once a week, so maybe I'll have this finished by 2010 :).

I've been so busy working that I've not had much time in the last week to check your blogs. I hope to do some blog reading today.

"Other blessings may be taken away, but if we have acquired a good friend...we have a blessing which improves in value when others fail."

A New Start

I went shopping with a friend yesterday and she is such a wonderful enabler :). She talked me into not one, but two new starts. I've only started one of them though. This is Maude Eloise 1891 by Blackbird Designs (2006), I'm using Country French Cashmere linen and overdyed threads. You can see a completed pic of it in my side bar.

This is going to be a fun (and quick) stitch.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Thanks for the warm comments.

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."

Crazy Cats are finished

Well, I finished up my silly, crazy, whimsical cats today. This will be made into a pillow for my daughter. I'm glad it was a quick stick, I'm not that fond of stitching whimsical pieces, give me a big sampler piece anyday!

My Cat~Trail Creek Farm

32ct Mint Green linen ~ Silk 'N Colors thread

Started ~ 3/25/08 Finished ~ 4/30/08

Thank you all for the well wishes for my son. The new medication he's on has worked wonderfully. He's having no problems breathing and his allergies are better controlled.

"There is a past which is gone forever, but there is a future which is still our own."

Mermaids

I've almost finished the beading in her hair. I've decided I'm going to bead as I go along and not leave them until the end. This piece is so much fun to stitch. This is for my daughter and she is watching with great delight as the mermaid comes to life.

Thanks for all the well wishes for my son. He feels a lot better, but he still has a bad cough and a fair amount of wheezing. He was started on a new medication and I'm waiting out the 10 days to see if it's going to work or not.

"Love works in ways that are wondrous and strange, there is nothing in life that Love cannot change."

Another update

"A Sweeter Love" is coming along nicely, although I've not been working on any of the 1/1 areas.

It is 70 degrees out today, woohoo!! I've been doing yard work and after the nasty winter we had our yard is a mess. But I'm done that for the day and now need to get the inside of the house clean.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Do lot's of stitching.

"After winter comes the summer. After night comes the dawn. And after every storm, there comes clear, open skies."

My Cat

Here's my update on "My Cat", hopefully the next time I pick this up I'll finish it.

I haven't had much time to stitch this week. My son has pneumonia, which got his asthma out of control. Poor kid, last week was school vacation and he was sick the whole week. He goes back to the doctor's today to see if the medications are working. He was well enough to go to school today so that's a good sign.

"Wisdom is oft times nearer when we stoop than when we soar."

I'm sticking it out ;)

Well, thanks to the encouragement of so many of you I've decided to stick with St. Petersburg. I finished the beading on part V but not the back stitching. I'll do the back stitching a little at a time as I work on part VI. You can see the beginnings of part VI in the upper left corner.

I hope everyone has had a good weekend.

"Nothing we can do will make the Father love us less; nothing we do can make him love us more. He loves us unconditionally with an everlasting love. All he asks of us is that we respond to him."

My new start

Well here is my new start. Mermaids of the Deep Blue by Miribilia. I know that most people under the sun have stitched this piece but I've had it in my stash for a while and it's for one of my daughters. I'm stitching this on Silkweaver's Ocean Fantasy. I took 2 pics so you could see the fabric better. It's a really pretty dark blue, much darker than what it looks in the pics.

I received a lot of comments about my putting my Chatelaine St. Petersburg away, so I might try to hang in there. I'll need to figure out some type of rotation so I can at least do a little on it to try and get past the backstitching on part V. Once I'm past the backstitching I think I'll be okay. Thanks for the encouragement everyone.

"Take spring when it comes, and rejoice. Take happiness when it comes, and rejoice. Take love when it comes, and rejoice."

Update

I am making some good progress on A Sweeter Love. I'm slowly working on the 1/1 verse and the border.

I am afraid my Chatelaine may officially be a UFO. It's still in my WIP's basket but I just cannot pick it up, oh well. So I'm going to start another new piece :). I'll surprise you with it when I've actually started it.

"Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith."

Something new

I decided I needed a break from "A Sweeter Love" and couldn't face picking up my Chatelaine. So I chose something whimsical. This is going to be a pillow for my daughter. It's called "My Cat" from Trail Creek Farm. I'm stitching it on mint green belfast with Silk 'N Colors. The colors are a little odd but I know my daughter will like it.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. I did! Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving such nice comments.

"Caring lifts the burden...Courage shoulders the weight...But only loving lightens the load."

I've got people

I've been able to get in some good time on this piece. I spent an entire afternoon doing the verse in 1/1 and enjoyed it (how weird is that?). The frog has left so my needles have been smoking. I love my people, aren't they cute? I especially love the waist on the lady (who has a waist that small?) I'm starting a new job next week so that will greatly decrease my stitching time.

Thank you all for the nice comments and coming by to visit. Have a great weekend.

"Every time I begin to feel that there just isn't any more strength in me, I end up knowing that there is more.....in God"

What's worse than 1/1?

What is worse than stitching 1/1? FROGGING 1/1!!!! Boy, I'm struggling with doing the 1/1 on this piece and I've had to frog most of what I've stitched this week in the verse. I've told myself I have to do some 1/1 every time I pick up this piece before I can move on to an area of 2/2. Otherwise this will never get done.

I'm also trying to finish up Part V on my Chatelaine, but there is so much backstitching that I have no desire to even pick it up. As you can tell, backstitching and 1/1 are my least favorite parts of stitching. I am very tempted to start something new but A Sweeter Love is a gift for my DH so I need to keep my focus on this piece.

Thank you for all the good wishes and comments about my daughter. She is completely back to normal and healthy.

"What is important is that one is capable of love. It is perhaps the only glimpse we are permitted of eternity."

A Sweeter Love update

I have been working on "A Sweeter Love" here and there. There is a lot of 1/1 which I wasn't aware of when I started this project. I'm not a huge fan of 1/1, so this has left me a little less motivated in picking up this project. But it is a gift for my hubby so I will persevere :).

Thanks for all the kinds thoughts and words about my daughter being hospitalized while away from home. She is home now and is doing just fine.

"Our Heavenly Father never takes anything from his children unless he means to give them something better."

VoHRH Framed!!!

I got this back from my framer earlier this week. Didn't it come out gorgeous? I don't usually put my pieces under glass but I did this one which made it very difficult to take a pic of it. I have so many windows in my house that I couldn't get away from all the reflections. So this is the best pic I could get.

I haven't done much stitching. One of my daughters went on a college trip this week with her high school and she became very ill and ended up being hospitalized for 2 days, 1500 miles away from us!!!! She will be home tonight, I can't wait to get my arms around her.

I've been tagged by Noreen. Here are the rules:

1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.

2. Post THE RULES on your blog.

3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.

4. Tag 7 people and link to them.

5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

Here are my 7 things:

1. I am left handed, but I do everything with my right hand except eat and write.

2. I need to know details. Example: When my husband tells me someone called, I need to know what time they called and exactly what they said (this drives my husband crazy).

3. I have a fear of heights (even a Ferris Wheel is too high for me).

4. I can't swim in water over my head, my feet have to be able to touch the ground.

5. My husband thinks I have ugly feet (I like my feet).

6. I never started drinking coffee until I was in my 30's, and today I can't live without it.

7. I like to dip potatoe chips in chocolate ice cream.

Thanks for the many comments that you guys leave on my blog. They are always very thoughtful and I appreciate them.

"I believe in the sun even when it is not shining, in love even when I am alone, and in God even when he is silent."

I have trouble spacing my postings, can anyone help me out? When I type my post I have spaces between my paragraphs but once I post it they disappear.

Puppy Dog Row is finished ;)

I finished Puppy Dog Row this afternoon. It is much easier to stitch under my Dazor light instead of the romantic lighting in our room in Cancun, lol.

Puppy Dog Row

Bent Creek

Fabric: 32 ct "Sorbet" by Picture this Plus

Threads: GAST & WDW

Started ~ 2-9-08

Finished ~ 2-22-08

"God writes with a pen that never blots, speaks with a tongue that never slips, and acts with a hand that never fails."

We're back and a new start

We had a wonderful time in Cancun. The temperature was in the 80's every day, the ocean was the most gorgeous blue. I got a beautiful tan which is peeling off and leaving me a funny pink :0). I debated whether I was going to bring any stitching with me and decided I would and that I would start something new. This is Puppy Dog Row by Bent Creek. I am stitching this on 32ct "Sorbet" by Picture This Plus, using WDW's and GAST. As you can tell this is a very quick stitch. My next sitting with it should finish it up.

Thanks for all the nice comments on SPWN, they will help keep me going.

"A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a person perfected without adversity."

SPWN Update and off to Cancun

I was hoping to get all the cross stitching done on part 5 before posting a pic, but didn't quite make it. I still have a little bit of regular stitching to do and then a TON of backstitching and then to add the beads.

Apparently these are apartment houses, not regular houses. I actually thought they were mansions!! It looks like a lot of people stopped stitching this piece during this part. Hopefully this was the largest part in the pattern.

This Friday we leave for Cancun to celebrate our anniversary, a tad bid early, but who wants to go to Cancun when it's warm here?

"I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess."

A Sweeter Love update

Here is an update on A Sweeter Love. Thanks for all the comments about my missing letter "P". The coolest thing happened. Paulette from Plum Street Samplers left a comment on my blog. That made my day!! I don't know how she found my blog and I feel honored she left a comment. Thank you Paulette!

The entire verse is over one so it will take me a while to get that done. I'm really enjoying this piece.

I've been working a lot lately so haven't had much time for stitching. Hopefully I'll be able to get some time in on SPWN and post a pic soon.

"Cease to inquire whatever the future has in store, and take as a gift whatever the day brings forth."

A Sweeter Love

Here's my update on A Sweeter Love. I love working on this piece. I'm learning more about the missing letters in the alphabet. As I've said in the past, the letters J and V are missing. I realized also the letter Q is missing, probably because it's so similar to O. I noticed that P is missing also, but that's not because of the alphabet being used as a teaching tool in the 1800's, it's because THE STITCHER CAN'T READ A CHART!! The top alphabet is missing P because I missed it on the chart. What a dope. Now I have to decide if I'm going to frog the latter part of the alphabet and put the P in or leave it the way it is. I've had enough frogs at my house, I would really like them to leave.

A really good friend of mine suggested I wait until I'm done with the piece to decide if I'm going to frog that alphabet or leave it as is. What great advice!! I love this friend. Not only is she sensible, she's one of the most encouraging and straight forward people I know. I could add that she's also extremely kind. I am truly blessed to have her as a friend.

"No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him."

The plague of the frogs :(

The frogs have hit like the plague. I already had trepidations about starting up St. Petersburg White Nights again and once I got started I REMEMBERED the counting error I had made before I put this away about 4 months ago. In my counting I was off by one stitch, which doesn't sound too bad, but the fallout is collosal (did I spell that right?). On a piece like this where everything builds on what you've already stitched you can't be off by even one stitch (which actually threw an entire row off). I am now paying dearly for this mistake. I am good at compensating but this is really draining my brain to figure out how to stitch this upper right corner around this error. Not only am I trying to figure this out but I'm ripping out as much as I'm stitching. I am trying to stay positive though, I was able to finish the lower right corner before the frogs hit.

I am done working on this for this week and I'm glad to put it away. Hopefully I'll be better prepared for the challenge next week when it comes up in my rotation again.

"Originality is not doing something no one else has ever done, but doing what has been done countless times with new life, new breath."

Update on A Sweeter Love

This is where I've gotten on A Sweeter Love. That chain band you see under the alphabet took me almost 6 hours to stitch! Do you believe that? It was such an intricate band. I consider myself someone who stitches at a moderate speed but this took much longer than I think it would have someone else.

I want to thank Kathy for letting me know why the "J" was missing from the 2 alphabets in this sampler. She said samplers used to be used as teaching tools and since "J" is similar to a "T" they often left the "J" out of the alphabet. She also said they sometimes did the same thing with "U" and "V", and guess what? There isn't a "V" in this sampler either. So, thank you Kathy for educating me.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend and thanks for all the great comments. They are appreciated ;)

"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."