My Life's a Stitch

Buckle Your Seatbelts!

2010-10-28T22:10:00.004-04:00

Wuuuuzzzzuuup???? How you all is?? Yes, it's really me, and I'm really doing a post. :)

I have been quite absent from the blogiverse the last month or so and I do apologize, but I just haven't been able to tear myself away from everything I've been doing long enough to sit down and post (or comment... but I have been reading!!!). It's been a sort of tug of war lately... "Hmmm.... shall I blog? Or shall I stitch (or play with pictures, or sew, or drool all over fatquartershop.com, or research a new sewing mashine... okay, and I will admit that 'Angry Birds' has had me in an iron grip the last few evenings)??" Anywho! Without boring you further with excuses or my internal bloggy dilemna, here are a few of the things I've been up to in the past month.

Olga! She's done! And I love her!!! And she's finish finished! My first ever fall finish. Yay!! Check out the frame! I usually go for the much cheaper Joann's or Michaels frames (esp. with the fabulous coupons! You know me - El Cheapo Grande), but I could not resist the frame Paulette chose for her. I'm in love, I think.

I also won a giveaway of a few charts from Natalie! I forgot to take a pic of the charts, so here's the link instead (click on the word link). I started one of the charts. I'm doing this over one on 32 ct. linen. I was hoping to have this baby finished for Hallowe'en this year, but, alas it is not to be.

A couple (few?) nights ago I started the first of the PS Folk Art Christmas ornaments. This one is the church. I just love this series, and hope I can get more than one of them done in time to put up on the tree this year. We'll see!

I've also been busy with my sewing machine (hence the drooling all over the new one I want). I swear if it weren't for the thought of the expense of replacing windows my current machine would've been tossed out my craft room window on multiple {like, 100} occasions. Anyway, I made some camera strap covers for myself, and I made one for a friend of mine who is also a pic taking fanatic. I just love them! I don't know where I saw one on the web, but I did, and that led me to Etsy where there are some really gorgeous ones - for like $30!!! I did mention I'm cheap, right?

I made my first ever scissors fob, and I love it! The ends are a little messier than I'd like, so I found a tutorial that utilizes a "tidier" method, and am just waiting on the package from Amazon so that I can get to work on making a few more.

My dear friend and enabler, Deb (rather, her blogroll), led me to the Moda Bake Shop site this past Saturday morning, and I found this great little project for ornament balls using charm packs. I showed Leah and suggested we should make some Christmas ornaments like this. She was thrilled, and insisted (honestly, it didn't take much convincing) that we make them that day. So, we did! These aren't done, actually... I'm still waiting for the modge podge to dry (I think I might've gone a little overboard, really) before I put on the clear coat, then I have to add their hooks and ribbons. Pretty easy project, and oh so cute!

And what fall would be complete without some pumpkin patching?

Well, y'all, that's it for me this go 'round! I hope to be on the blogs more often soon!! Thanks for your patience with this slump I seem to be in!!!

Til next time,

Robin

Apple Picking... Without the Apples

2010-09-19T21:20:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone! Long time no "chat", huh?

I put off and put off posting in the hopes I'd have some stitching to show for the past few weeks... and well... nothing has miraculously stitched itself while I slept. I actually did start Olga, though! Yay me! But, Olga got hit with some frogs... I had to rip out everything I stitched, b/c I started too far to the middle and realized that I would only end up with about 1/8" on the opposite edge if I continued. I just wasn't paying attention because I was in such a rush to work on her. That'll teach me... well, it should teach me, but it probably won't, lol!! That was this past week on one of my lunch hours and I haven't touched her since. Poor Olga. Retract your claws dear Olga. I promise to take you to work with me this week.

Yesterday, my picture taking friend Melissa and I attempted to take our two children (and our "dudes") to the local pick your own orchard for some apple pickin' and picture takin'. We came up with the plan early in the week and both of us spent the rest of the week plotting our photographic plan of attack. When we arrived, we were informed that the apples weren't ready yet... say what?? But your website says... (and the attempted 'from scratch' pie crust for use with said apples? Yeah. We won't talk about that m'kay?)... Ah well. We cut our losses and headed over to their berry patch.

I had two photographic lessons reinforced while we were there. 1) High in the sky sun is a photographer's enemy. 2) Never believe what the LCD screen on your camera is telling you - especially when you are standing in bright, non-shady, almost directly overhead sunlight. Ever. Just don't do it. Trust me. Why?? Oh. Well, hypothetically speaking (because I know this lesson already and would neeever allow myself to be tricked) you might look at the pictures you just took and think "wow, those are really overexposed." Then you might think "Wow, I'm a photographic genius! I'll fix this! I'll just drop my exposure compensation a few stops and all will be well with my photographic world again." And if you do that you might (okay, you will) end up with pics that look like they are properly exposed ("Oh, self... you are soooo silly! They just look dark on the screen b/c it's so bright outside!"), but in reality are nearly unsalvageably dark, and which can only be made "presentable" by applying some special effects in PhotoShop Elements and pretending you took the pics that way because you wanted to apply said special effects in post processing.

Anyway. Here are some pics from yesterday. Enjoy!!

Okay, that's it for me! Have a great week, everyone!!

~Robin

New Beginnings

2010-08-29T23:50:00.003-04:00

Hi there everybody! How are you? This seems to be a very busy time of year, doesn't it?

We have two kinds of beginnings going on in our household. The first, and most exciting and important is that my baby is now a kindergartener. :) Lots of prep (like choosing the perfect dress for her first day of school), and nervousness (she woke up that morning and said she was sooo nervous and scared) beforehand, but she loves it. She has been so proud to bring her folder home everyday with a "green circle" on the daily calendar (indicating that she was a good girl all day). She loves her teacher and loves her new friends, and really really loves it that she is now "a big kid." You know me... I had the camera out while we left the house and waited for the bus. I took WAY too many pictures, and here are just a few:

The other "beginning" (really... not sure it actually deserves to be called that) is that I finally got myself off of full auto on my camera last weekend! The hubs, girl child, and I went to a little field in our neighborhood and I took pictures while daddy & Leah ran around like fools and goofed off just to humor me and let me practice with my camera. I made a few REALLY stupid mistakes, but am very excited that I took the training wheels off a little bit and actually got some decent shots. Here are a few of my favorites:

That's it for now... no stitching I'm afraid... I hear it distantly calling my name, but I've been so busy the past week that I haven't really been able to spend a ton of time on anything except maintaining day to day. And, I'm still pretty obsessed with the whole photography "thing" so it might be a little while before I really pick the stitching up again. However, I do have a bit of a crafty project brewing, probably for sometime this week. So, who knows... I may actually have some "product" rolling out of my craft room in the next post.

Thanks to all of you that commented on my last post! I got some comments from folks that I hadn't "met" before, which was very very cool, so thanks and welcome to you ladies!

Have a great week!!!
Robin

Stitching In Stasis

2010-08-18T01:25:00.001-04:00

Hi there everyone!

Well, as you can see from the title of this post - ain't no stitchin' here. None. At all. For the last... week and a half? Two weeks?

So, what have I been doing with my free time? Playing with PhotoShop Elements. Yep. I finally decided to bite the bullet and learn how to use the program so that I could quit my belly-achin' about all the pics I see from the pro-fesh-un-als (and non-pros, too!) that make me want to weep with envy, and drool all over my keyboard. Now, don't get me wrong. I got one of those million page long "Missing Manual" books when I got the program, and I did read it - somewhat. But I'm a hands on kind of learner so it wasn't really cuttin' the mustard, know what I'm sayin'? So, I did what any 21st century gal without a clue how to do something does - I went to YouTube, and watched hours of tutorials. There I learned about previously mysterious things like "layer masks", filters, actions, blah blah blah into the wee hours of the mornings. And when I was done there I searched blogland for some more help.

Eureka!! Via The Pioneer Woman's site, I came across this blog:
http://www.coffeeteaphotography.blogspot.com/

Oh my. There is a WEALTH (A wealth, I tell you!!) of information there for the new PSE user. And info isn't all!! This brilliant, awesome lady actually creates FREE actions that are usable in PSE (you aren't supposed to be able to create actions in PSE [an action is a recorded macro - no idea why Adobe calls it an "action", rather than a "macro"], which is one of the main differences between the el cheapo PhotoShop [Elements], and the full on [@$700!!!??!!!] PhotoShop)! AND, one of those free actions is the ability to create a layer mask on ANY layer in PSE (another of the key differences in the two programs). Score!!!!

Anyway... let me rein myself in here... So!! I've been fiddling around, and here are a few of my recent attempts. Most of the before shots are SOOC (Straight Out of the Camera).

Before:

After:

Before:

After (a quick note - the point of this edit was to accomplish something [near to] "tilt shift photography" - the point of TSP is to make what you've taken a photo of look toy like. I plan on taking more pics in the future with the intent of them being TSP shots, so hopefully those will be more obviously toy like, but for my training sessions I've been using pics I've already got):
Before:
After:

Before (another quick note - this shot is not SOOC. This before pic includes the basic edits I've been making since I got the program):
After:

Before:

After:

Before:
After:

Before (Yet another note - I did not take this photo. My DH did [gotta give credit where credit is due!].):

After:

So! There you have it! Hopefully this encourages someone out there reading this that it isn't actually terribly difficult to get really great results from a not ridiculously expensive photo editing program (trust me - if I can do it, you can do it!).

If you are at all interested in photography and editing your photos, but don't yet have the know how, I would highly encourage you to explore YouTube tutorials, then go visit the aforementioned blog (there are a few others out there, but the one I listed is the one I by far got the most "juice" out of). It really is a lot of fun!

Sorry no stitching this go 'round (and thanks for your comments on my last post)! I have been missing it the last few days, so probably will have something to show you next time.

Have a fabulous week, everyone!

Robin

Touch & Go

2010-08-10T21:45:00.004-04:00

Hi there everybody! This is going to be a quick - a "touch & go" - post (see the end of this post re: "touch & go")...

Not much going on, really, pretty much just day in day out kind of stuff... Leah is getting ready to start kindergarten in a couple weeks, so we're starting to get prepared for that. She's very excited to finally be able to go to "big girl school".

I have recently been bitten by the PhotoShop (Elements) bug... again - i.e. I've been drowning myself in tutorial videos, blogs, etc. trying to figure out how to use the advanced features to make my photos really fab, so there hasn't been a whole lot of stitching going on, but here is what I've done in the last few weeks:

Another Prairie Schooler Olde World Santa:

And some progress on The Blessing:

I also kitted up Olga (Plum Street Samplers) over the weekend and can't wait to start it. Someone (who prefers to remain anonymous) RAK'd the pattern to me, and I was overjoyed because I was going to "be good" for the sake of my wallet and not get her right away. She is just adorable! I can't wait to have her out when fall comes! Speaking of Fall... is anyone else ready for a break from the brutal heat?? Yeesh!

Okay, that's it for me (see, told ya it would be quick!), I'm going to get back to wrestling PSE into compliance. :)

Thanks for all of your comments on my last post!! I am always so glad to hear from you all! The notification "ping" on my phone is music to my ears. :) I was caught up on commenting on Sunday, but have since fallen behind... sorry!!! I'll get caught up very soon, I promise! Oh! And I notice I've gained a couple new followers! Welcome!

Okay, check ya later peeps!!

Robin

*Touch & Go: Okay, I'm an Air Force brat, so when I was trying to think of a clever title to convey that this post would be a quick one, I thought of watching fighter jet "touch & go" maneuvers as a kid. Now we weren't usually close enough to actually see the jets' tires hit the runway, but usually we could see them dip below view, and then lickety split streak back up again. It was very very cool, esp. for jet obsessed kids. :) As kids it didn't occur to us that the pilots weren't just having some fun. These were real drills for pilots that could find themselves in a hostile situation at any moment when deployed.

An Oasis (and some progress, too)...

2010-07-18T21:59:00.001-04:00

Hi there everyone! I hope you've all had a great week! Before I get started I want to say thank you so much for taking the time to read (and comment on!) my posts. I love hearing from you all, and knowing I'm not posting for the crickets. You all are such an inspiration to my crafty endeavors, and I am honored that talented folks such as yourselves take the time to tell me how I'm doing. That sounds so sappy, I know, but it's true! So, thanks! :)

Okay, the main event of this post will be the reveal of my "new" bedroom. Unfortunately, I don't have any before pics to show you. Basically, it was pretty boring. Builder almond walls, red patterned comforter and matching drapes (which my step-mom helped me make, so I felt a twinge of sadness pulling them down and sending them to Salvation Army), an elliptical machine, some of the hubby's weights, and other misc. "stuff" that somehow made its way into the room.

Well, I cleared all that out, painted, and this is what we ended up with (looking in from the bedroom door):

The bed, with this original oil on canvas artwork in a fab frame (it was a total steal at $35!! And, it doesn't look quite this small IRL...):

"My" corner of the sitting area (the rug in this pic is where the whole "design" started - it was a major "score" at Home Goods, and after I had it I based all other purchases, and the wall color on that rug. Recognize the trunk? It used to reside in my craft room. The rest of the house was cannibalized freely for this redo - including the round table in between the chairs):

Looking into the bedroom from the bathroom:

And one last shot... just because I love the blue of the wall against the white drapery & chair, and the gold framed mirror:

So, that's it! I really love the way it turned out. It is so calming and peaceful in there now... everything I always hoped our master bedroom would be. There is still more accessorizing to do, and I'd like to get more artwork on the walls, but I'm happy with it as is, so those other acquisitions will be moments of serendipity.

What else have I been up to... Well, I did get a decent amount of stitching in this week, so here's where I am now:

Next on the agenda for this piece will be the house - I did the tree first so I wouldn't have to count (and possibly have to frog) a lot of wide open space to start stitching the house. We'll see how far I progress in the evenings this week. Speaking of audiobooks (nice segue, right?) - I started listening to Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir yesterday while I was stitching. It is fantastic!! If you like historical fiction, you sould definitely read or listen to this book. Just wonderful! I have always liked this author's non-fiction histories, and her transition to fictionalizing the people and events she has researched so heavily is absolutely flawless. 5 stars all the way!

That's about all I've got for this week... I get to go get my baby next weekend, and cannot wait to see her!! When we get home it'll be time to get her ready for kindergarten. Wow... time really flies, doesn't it? It literally seems like yesterday (or last week) that I was bringing her home from the hospital.

Since I've already tortured you with a post and a half worth of pics, I figure what's a couple more?? I had my macro lens out today to play around, and here are a couple of the shots I caught:

Have a fantastic week, everyone!!

Robin

Briing Back, Briing Back, Bring Back my Mojo to me, to me...

2010-07-11T20:14:00.000-04:00

Hi, everyone! How's it going?

Thanks so much for your kind comments on my last post. I can't tell you how much I enjoy getting and reading each and every one of them! I've been pretty remiss in my blogging responsibilities the last few weeks (sorry!), but finally caught up on commenting this afternoon.

And, while I was catching up, I found two great giveaways - head over to Deb's (her name is the link) if you haven't already - she's a great lady with a great blog! And when you're done there, head over to Jan's wonderful blog (again, her name is the link) for a chance to win some more goodies!

I can't quite believe it's been a bit over a month since I last posted - it doesn't seem like it's possible that that much time has gone by, but it has. Nothing bad has been going on, just busy... two kinds of busy, in fact. The kind of busy where you go to bed at night thinking "wow, today was a really busy day, but honestly... I have no idea why or what I did!" and the kind of busy where you're getting lots done, and are wishing there were more hours in the day!

Not much time has been spent on stitching... okay, really, almost zero time. I don't think I've picked up my needle in about 3 weeks! Even when I have had the time, I have been completely unmotivated to even look at it.

So, instead of new progress and new projects, I'm going to show you what I got done while Leah was gone last time, and what was done shortly after she got back.

First up, my second completed Olde Worlde Santa ornament:

I did start a third, but decided no one really wants to see a small green blob of stitching... not a very interesting progress pic. I'm hoping to get all of this series stitched and finish finished by Christmas - that's a lofty goal for me!

Next up is the quilt top I was talking about finishing. It is complete! I finished it while Leah was with grandma last time. First pic is the only star that came out with the points even remotely correct:

And, here's the whole thing:

I love the colors, and the contrast. I wish there had been more red and blues and less browns in this layer cake, but overall, I'm really happy with it. Now I just need to get some backing fabric, baste it, and quilt it. I should be able to get that done some time this decade, don't you think? I'd better, b/c I'm itching to rip into some more of the jelly rolls and layer cakes I've got, and (esp. with the quilts), I'm a one project at a time kind of girl.

Next up is my progress (sadly, not much to show...) on The Blessing. Here's where I was last time I posted:

And here's where I am now:

Last week and weekend was one of those running around like a chicken with my head cut off kind of times. My mom (aided and abetted by Leah) ~~conned~~ talked me into letting Leah come back for a bit longer visit before the end of the summer, so the week prior to the 4th of July weekend was spent frantically getting her ready for a 3 week visit (3 weeks!! WTH was I thinking??). Saturday, I drove her to MI, Sunday I drove home (9 hours each way), and when I got home started the real "work" of my annual home decor project. I decided to redo our master bedroom, and so, everything had to be cleared out so I could get to the walls to paint them. Monday I painted, Tuesday I finished painting, and the rest of the evenings this week were spent recuperating from all the chaos. Friday night the DH & I put everything back in the room, and set up the new furniture, then yesterday we went out to get things to "complete" the room. And, now it's as complete as it's going to be. I'll save pics til my next post (next weekend, I swear!) because I'm just now pausing to catch my breath.

Anywho, now that my "while Leah is gone" projects are pretty much complete, I'm really really hoping to be able to get a severe case of stitch a$$ for the remaining evenings and weekend I'm without my baby - and when I say severe, I'm talking so severe it necessitates a visit from some ~~hot~~ helpful firefighters to get me unstuck from my chair.

Speaking of "hot" and "firefighters"... I don't know about the rest of you, but it has been seriously HOT in my neck of the woods (Mid Atlantic) lately. So hot, people's dead deck plants have spontaneously combusted. I'm sooo not kidding. Here's a link to an article about one such fire in my town. We actually tied a city in SoCal for the hottest city in the country one day last week. It was 106. Plus humidity (fortunately, not too high). Ugh! I don't really mind the heat usually, but good grief!! Even for me, that's a bit extreme!

Well, have a great week everyone! I'm going to sign off and see if I can get the DH to make me something alcoholic, yummy... and frozen.

Stay cool!!
Robin

Memorial Day Part Deux - Cute Overload

2010-06-09T22:29:00.000-04:00

Wuzzup my homeys?? Howz it hangin'? Are you ready for a pic heavy, word lite, cuteness loaded post? Good! Here goes!

First up, the lambs. They were so stinking cute and full of personality this year!! No real narrative for these, but I did come up with captions. :)

Yeeeee-haw!!!! We're FREEEEE!!!!

Holy sheep doo Sheeplets! What is THAT???

I so tired... just 5 more minutes, then I play cute more, 'kay?

What's up Doc?

The little guy below had been getting shoved aside by the rest of the herd during feeding time, and as a result became so weak, he pretty much can't move. So, he's separated and getting some extra TLC. Including loving from Miss Leah.

Next up, pics of Leah's very first "real, big girl" riding lesson. She was sooooo excited (can you tell from this pic??):

She did some practice in the indoor arena, then it was out the door to ride outside for the first time in her little life:

She did such a great job! I know I'm biased, but really... I've seen adults not steer and stop, then start again so well their first time out. It probably helps that a) she had been dreaming of that day for ages, and b) her brain is like a little sponge - all young and what not. ;)

Here are my two other favorite pics:

Can you tell she was enjoying the heck out of it? She is still at grandma's (I get to go get her on Friday - thank GOD!!! I knew I'd miss her, but my my my...) and having a grand ole time living the life of a farm girl (stay tuned at the end of the post for "Leah's Theory of Good Farm Girl Living"). Riding every day, playing with the dog and cats and lambs. Every kid's dream, right?

Mooooving on....

Maybe if I close my eyes, she'll be gone when I open them...

Here's the obligatory shot of Leah's best buddy Razz:

We wondered if he'd remember her again this year... sure enough we got there and after hugs and kisses for grandma, Razz was the first stop on Leah's "must do immediately" itinerary. He was eating his grain, so we figured that the likelihood he'd be interested in greeting her was slim to none. Ha! Goes to show what we know! She called him a few times, and over he came. Pretty cute.

And what farm would be complete without flowers??

Daisies aren't my favorites in the garden (Not that I don't like them! I do!), but I sure do think they're the happiest looking flowers!

Just a cool looking dead tree...

And my favorite early summer flower, the peony...

And that brings us to... "Leah's Theory of Good Farm Girl Living"....

Let me set the scene. Per grandma's request Leah is helping in the barn by raking up the hay that got in the aisleway during chores. Our good family friend and farm helper, Marty, comes in and asks Leah how she's doing... and a theory is born:

Marty: How's it going, Leah?

Leah: Good.

Marty: You're doing a good job raking up the hay... looks like you're turning into a pretty good farm girl, huh?

Leah: Uh-huh. (Looks up at Marty). Mr. Marty? When I grow up I'm going to be a farm girl, but I'm not doing chores and raking and all this other stuff.

Marty: Well, then who will take care of the animals and the farm?

Leah: My servants.

Marty: Servants? What servants?

Leah: My mom.

Well, that's all I've got right now, folks! I've gotten some things done in the craft room, but not as much as I thought I would with my evenings being "free". But enough to make a pretty "busy" crafting post, so I'll save it for next time.

Once again, thanks so much for your comments! I know you are all busy, so it really makes it extra special when I (maybe a tad obsessively) check for comments and see that I've got a new one. :)

Have a fantastic week everyone!!

Robin

Memorial Day Part 1 - The Outing

2010-06-02T23:02:00.003-04:00

Hey there everybody!

Well, I am back from Michigan and I've gotta tell ya - we had such a wonderful, full weekend it's gonna take two (or more??) posts to cover everything.

Let's start with my day out with Deb and Terri, shall we?? We were having so much fun together we only got one picture as we were leaving the last stop of the day:

From Left to Right: Deb, Terri, Moi. A special "shout out" to Deb for allowing me to post her picture. She normally shies away from photo posting (I think it has something to do with the paparrazi) but graciously allowed me to post this shot so I could "prove" she was with us... thanks, Deb!! Are you happy with the way your pic turned out?? ;)

Seriously, though. These two ladies are fantastic! So friendly, and funny, and sweet, and stylish, and funny, and sweet... Did I mention funny and sweet? They are exactly as you would imagine they are based on their blog posts. We had so much fun chatting and laughing it up in Terri's car (thanks for driving, Terri!), there wasn't a single lull in the conversation, or any awkward moments - you would think we'd known each other forever... which makes sense, given we already were friends, don't you think? It was a great day, and they put the icing on the cake by bringing gifts just for me. :)

First up is this wonderful pincushion and strawberry (with scissors!!) that Terri made for me:

Aren't they darling?? Thank you SO much, Terri! Your creations are on my table, right where I can see and use them. :) Roscoe thought they were cute, too. I tried repeatedly to get this photo without his assistance (note his little paw pointing out the charms of the strawberry), but to no avail and so I decided to just go with it.

Next up is the lovely package from Deb (once again, Roscoe is delighting in my good fortune... or it might be plotting which items he'll confiscate for himself. And who could blame him??):

She gifted me with this wonderful little tower shelf, and stuffed it with goodies! A sheepie scissor fob/ pin keep complete with scissors, a lambie covered measuring tape (and where might the measuring tape protrude from?? I'll leave that up to your imagination, hehe!), a delicious (blue to match my room) "rain" scented soy candle, some yummy fabrics in the same flavor as my room, and some sweet little blue buttons. Thank you, Deb!! These are gracing my room in very prominent locations!

Aren't these two just so kind? I think so, too.

We spent the day quilt shop hopping, and antique shopping. I got some really cute things!! First up, the antiques:

I got this great antique walnut frame (Nice and deep front & back. Perfect for some stitchy piece), a large wooden and metal spool (wrapped with French General measuring "tape" - a find at one of the quilt shops - and some ric rac I found at the Antique Mall), a flower frog in a lovely bowl (thanks for finding this one, Terri!!), some adorable single serve salt & pepper shakers, a bone dish, a hemostat (gotta have that for those stuck needles), and a really cute little glass apothecary jar - it has this really cool rainbow sheen on the glass which made it especially irresistable (side note - while we were waiting in line, I was talking [with my hands, of course] and the lid on this jar flew off and hit the concrete floor. Miraculously, it didn't break. Note to self - no more talking while waiting to pay for something you're holding that is fragile!!). And, do you notice the little note pad? That was actually part of Deb's gift - I realized I left it out after I had all this set up, and just had to make sure it got included. Can you read what it says? "The bigger the handbag, the smaller your butt looks"!!! LOLOL!!! Love it!

Next up, my fabric/ quilty finds:

I am in total love/ fabric lust with the Fig Tree Quilt lines. Luscious. I wonder what I'll make??

One last thing (even though it isn't related to the MI trip). I got back to work today and my friend Melissa brought me a gift from her trip to CA. She found these fabulous socks in Carmel, and brought them back for me:

Are they awesome or what?? If my toenail polish wasn't drying, they'd be on my tootsies right now. :) Thanks again, Melissa!!

Well, that's it for tonight! Stay tuned for Memorial Day Part Deux (to include farm pics, and pics of Leah being a farm girl and during her first "real" riding lesson, flower pics, etc.).

G'night!!

Robin

Move Along Folks; Nothing to See Here, Nothing to See...

2010-05-26T19:01:00.003-04:00

No really... nothing to show for my (nearly 2 week?) hiatus. This'll be quick. :)

I've done a tiny bit of stitching, some more piecing on my quilt, and - most importantly - bid a fond (and incredibly teary... okay, I wept like a baby multiple times during the finale) farewell to the show that was the ONLY reason we got cable TV - LOST. Last week was incredibly consumed with the build up to this event. It's a little pathetic, really... Tuesday was the penultimate episode, and when it was over I was "done" for the night... couldn't think about anything else. Thursday evening I actually paid money to go sit in a movie theater and watch an interview with the creators/ head writers of the show and, again, was useless for the rest of the night (are you getting an idea of my level of devotion to and love for this show??), then Sunday from 7pm until 11:30pm I was on the couch with lots of tissue watching the recap special and the final broadcast. If it weren't for the Redskins (DH's blood runs burgundy & gold) I would happily call Comcast and pull the plug right now. :)

But! Now I'm back, I have my Tuesday nights back and I can promise you this - there are several great posts headed your way after the Memorial Day Weekend.

*SPOILER ALERT* - Don't read further if you like being surprised by blog post topics. :)

Coming Soon to a blog near you (uh... this blog):

- Headed to MI to see my mama over the Memorial Day Weekend - farm pics and Leah pics will be included

- On Saturday I will spend the day antiquing and quilt shop hopping with our beloved and FAB-u-lous bloggers Deb and Terri - recap to follow (to include any hilarity that ensues)

- Stitching progress

- Quilt progress

- A couple "other" projects I've worked on recently

Have a wonderful Memorial Day and remember to take a moment (or more) to remember those that have died to protect our right to barbecue, wear cutoff jeans, speak our minds, worship as we choose, and all the myriad other everyday little things we can sometimes take for granted.

Peace Out my homeys! See you on the flip side!
Robin

Roses are Pink, Frogs are Glass & Stitching is Last

2010-05-14T00:05:00.002-04:00

Howdy everybody! How are you all doing? My new phone (HTC Incredible... it is awesome!! If you're in the market for a VZW phone I HIGHLY recommend it!) is supposed to have helped me stay on top of reading and commenting on blogs... but apparently I don't have quite as many empty moments as I thought, b/c I feel like I'm just as big a stranger to the blogosphere as ever! I need to get caught up with y'all, and I will soon, I promise!

Thanks so much for the kind wishes for Leah's birthday!! I read each and every one to her (and dispensed second hand hugs as requested), and they all made her feel so special and cared for... thank you for helping me make her birthday wonderful for her!! I can't believe my baby is 5 and goes to "big kid school" in the fall. Time really does fly by, doesn't it?

I'm struggling to pinpoint a "good" starting point for this post, so I'm just going to jump right in... I apologize in advance for the stream of consciousness (Robin style) you're about to be subjected to! This could get scary folks, so buckle in!!!

Umm... yeah... that sounds cool so I'm leaving it in, but really we haven't had anything terribly exciting going on. Just your normal every day run of the mill "stuff"... Let's see, how to recap...

We had Leah's birthday party this past Saturday, which was a complete success. I don't know what I was thinking, though! 15 kids in my townhouse!! (It's generously sized for a townhouse, but add their parents to the mix and it was standing room only!). I remembered pronto why I am sticking with my decision to have one child. By the time the third kid arrived I was ready to come unglued! Not because they were being bad or anything, just the sheer volume of their little voices! Oy! Then they got hopped up on sugar and dear Lord I was ready to reach for the vodka... er, or I would have if we had any in the house. :) Seriously, I don't know how you ladies with multiple children do it!! You have my utmost respect and admiration, you truly do. So, basically what I'm saying is: Birthday parties in my home - Most. Effective. Birth. Control. Ever. And really, the world is a much safer place if I limit my offspring to one, m'kay (because of me, not because of my offspring)?

We've had something of a rainy/ chilly spell this week, which has meant not a ton of outside activity going on. However, I did manage to grab a couple of really nice shots of one of the few roses I have blooming (this bush really needs to be pulled, but I just don't have the heart to do it... yet) during a brief hiatus in the gloom the other evening:

I love roses!!! Especially a lot of the David Austen roses. This is 'Heritage', and when it was healthy it bloomed profusely in several flushes throughout the summer (one year it even had a small bloom in mid-October!) with very little extra care (all I did was dead head, and give it some rose food every 2-3 weeks) I really wish we'd decide how we're going to finish our back yard so I can get a garden plan going back there! We are in negotiations amongst ourselves, and once we decide I'll be sure to share some before and afters with you all. Whether you want me to, or not! :) Needless to say, the beds will include roses. I can't wait!!

Oh! Mother's Day! I hope you all had a wonderful day and that your families lavished you with affection and gratitude for all that you are for them every day of every year!!! We had a pretty quiet day which was nice. We made a trip to our local Home Goods/ TJ Maxx (I love me some HG/ TM!!!) in the afternoon so that I could try to find a replacement for my beloved fuzzy white bathroom rugs... why would I need to do that you ask? Well, let me tell you.

My dear darling (dramatic) Leah was dancing around my bathroom artistically twirling her little (lightweight!!!) sweater around her and singing at the top of her lungs. I had stupidly left some bottles of nail polish on the side of the tub (you know where this is headed, don't you). Somehow the sweater made contact with a bottle of OPI Mother Road Rose (great color, btw) polish, knocked it off the WHITE TILE tub, and onto the WHITE TILE floor and of course, the neck of the bottle snapped off and lo and behold, we had dark hot pink nail polish everywhere (tips for removing said nail polish without ruining the finish on my tile are welcome), including on my fuzzy white rug. :( Ah well, accidents happen. Oh, but the fun part was when Leah stepped in it while trying to clean it up, then proceeded to make little pink dots all around the bathroom as I tried desperately to get her to "Stop! Moving!" I swear you can't make this stuff up! I can totally imagine how comical we would've looked to someone watching the scene unfold, lol!

Anywho! That resulted in a trip to Home Goods (you feel sorry for me, don't you) where (amongst other "scores") I found these little gems (aka Mother's Day gifts):

Aren't they great?? They're heavy as all get out, and so rustic looking, which I love. They weren't very expensive and so they came home with us. I actually got two of the smaller one, but figured a pic of just one of them would get the point across... did it? The two smaller ones were labelled as candle holders, but the bottoms are pretty concave, so I'm not sure how well that would work. I'll figure something out.

But my best mommy's day gift came much later in the day. Let me back up... Leah has been leaving her room to go to sleep in our bed lately, and we haven't quite managed to break her of the habit. So, Sunday night I brought a load of laundry up to my room to fold and put away, but when I got up there Leah was in our bed (I thought) fast asleep. So, I put the basket down, whispered to the kitty that I'd put the clothes away tomorrow night, and went back downstairs. My DH came downstairs a few minutes later and told me to "go check out what Leah's doing." Well, really, there's no telling what her creative little mind might come up with so I high tailed it up to our room and found her... pulling clothes out of the basket (in the dark!), "folding" them, and putting them in piles on the bed, just like mommy. She saw me and said "Here mommy, I'll do this for you so you don't have to do it tomorrow." I just about bawled. Who's my sweetest baby EVER?? We finished doing the load together, then she crawled back into bed and fell asleep. It was about the best ending I could have imagined to the day.

Stitching time has been completely non-existent for the last few weeks for various reasons. I did pick up The Blessing again Monday night and here is where I am:

I am really enjoying this part of the pattern... I know this probably means I'm crazy, but I actually really enjoy fill in. No counting, totally mindless, just the soothing rythm of the stitches, and whatever music or audio book I'm listening to. Ahhh.

Once this is done, (or possibly before), I think I'm going to try finishing up that quilt top I was working on... whenever it was I was working on it! I've been bitten by the quilt bug recently (note to self - stop visiting fatquartershop.com), and really want to get cracking on finishing that quilt top and maybe starting another.

Just one more thing, then you can go. :) I'm not sure you recall the tour of my room several posts back, but I believe I showed a pic of my scissors in a frog just sitting on the table? Well, I was encouraged to find a home for the frog, and I found something it fit right there in my craft room! Me likey!

Alrighty, that's it for me tonight! I'll "see" you all soon!! Have a wonderful weekend!!

~Robin

Leah Haley

2010-05-04T00:31:00.001-04:00

Five years ago (almost to the minute) my greatest joy entered the world. Here is "her life" in 8 photos or less...

May 4th, 2005 ~ 12:35am

6lbs 15oz; 21" long

Have a wonderful week if I don't get a chance to do another post this week!

Robin

Testing 123

2010-04-27T16:03:00.002-04:00

Hiya folks!

Just testing my ability to post on Blogger from my new phone. :)

See you soon!!!

Miscellany

2010-04-22T22:05:00.008-04:00

Hey there, everybody!

Let me start by sayin'... ain't no stitchy pics here! :) I've had another week that has kept me away from my stitchy seat (in some respects "self imposed"... but I'll tell you about that in a little bit) except for a couple of nights, so no progress worth a pic! Next time (I hope!)!!

I have been very lax in blog reading and commenting the past couple weeks, and for that I apologize!! But, I was able to get a few read today at lunch, and look what I found on Cari's blog!!??!! My first EVER award!!! :) It made me so happy!! Thank you SO SO SO much, Cari!!!

The rules are that I'm supposed to list 10 things that make me happy, then pass it along to 10 folks. Here goes the fulfillment of the 1st portion (note that these are not necessarily in order of importance - except the first one. The first one is definitely first.):

1) My sweet baby Leah (I'm sure none of you are suprised by that!!)
2) LOST (Here's hoping my level of sadness when the show ends {only 4 hours left!!!} does NOT correlate to the level of happiness it brings me)
3) Reading a good book - curled up under a blanket on a rainy day, or sitting outside on a lovely evening
4) Taking pictures, and playing with them in PhotoShop
5) Playing games - card games, board games, any kind of game (except games involving balls)
6) Stitching (duh)
7) Quilt fabric (can't really say "quilting" since I pretty much only dream of doing that) - esp. jelly rolls, layer cakes, honey buns, turnovers, etc., etc., etc.
8) Gardening
9) Decorating/ looking at design blogs and books (and mags)
10) Sleep. I looove me some sleep!!

Now the second part of this award is to give it to 10 other people... but I can't choose between all the blogs I follow. So, I'm not going to pass it along. (Breakin' the law! Breakin' the law!!) Just know this: If you are on my blog-roll, reading your blog makes me happy. Really! Your blogs give me so much inspiration, motivation, entertainment, enjoyment... and the relationships that have developed with some of you electronically enrich my life so much, I can't even tell you!! So!

Okay, on to the reason for my stitching inattentiveness (I'll try to keep this brief, but you know me!!)... I've been sucked into a vortex. Or maybe it's a black hole... whatever it is, I am very excited about this, and can't wait to truly get started with it!! What is it? Digital scrapbooking!!

I visited my BFF (Ili) last Saturday and asked how her scrapbooks were coming along. She said "Girrl!! I went digital!!" I was like "Whaaat?? Oh no you di'n'!!" And she was like... okay, sorry, I'll spare you. :) Long story short, she introduced me to a website called artscow.com. She had completed and had printed several photo books from them, and they looked really really good! So, I got myself all set up and started Sunday evening. It was VERY cool! Pretty easy to use, and much faster than traditional (paper) scrapbooking. I used to spend 2-3hrs per page when I was kickin' it old skool. With this site, I spent @ 10 hrs and had 15 pages complete. I was so excited when I saved my project Monday night! Then the problems started... I won't go into it all here, but suffice to say I won't be using artscow.com. 10 hrs of work completely down the drain (due to issues on their end) and the response of their customer service department was pretty much "sorry 'bout your luck!"

So! Despite that frustration it was a wonderful thing! I loved doing it so much that I am now looking into and will probably purchase the Creative Memories Storybook Creator software. It isn't nearly as expensive as I thought it was, and it looks like it is a very powerful tool! It'll be good to get through the thousands of pictures I have sitting on my PC, on CDs and on my memory card! Who knows? Maybe I'll even share some of my pages in future posts!

To make up for not having a stitchy pic this week, I thought I'd share a couple of flower pics from my garden...

Well, folks! I'm going to sign off, get caught up on blog reading and commenting, then continue on with my Digital scrapbooking research... if any of you have success stories or horror stories to share, I'd love to hear them!!! Thanks so much for reading!!!

Stitch a$$ to all and to all a good night!!

Robin

Cherry Blossoms and Some Progress

2010-04-14T22:53:00.003-04:00

Hey there mes amies!

Before I get "started" on this post, let me first say thank you all SO much for your kind wishes for my anniversary! We had a quiet and relaxing evening at home, which was nice... I have no real idea what I've been doing the last couple weeks, but I do know that I've felt as though every single day has been jam packed with busyness. Good busyness, though, and that's about all we can ask for, right?

I haven't had much time for stitching in the last couple weeks (I usually collapse into bed shortly after {and sometimes, lately, before... what is UP with my child that she seems able to exist on miniscule amounts of sleep?? She definitely didn't get that particular genetic "gift" from her momma!!} my little Leah.), but here is what I've done... as you can see, we have a lady! I'm hoping to finish this some time this century...

Now, let's move on to what Leah described as our "a little bit boring" (kid tells it like it is... now that she definitely gets from her momma!!) trip to DC to see the Cherry Blossoms (along with every other tourist within a 100 mile radius), shall we?

It was a beautiful day, although it started out a bit chilly and cloudy. But the clouds drifted away and the temperature rose comfortably pretty quickly. The hordes of people made it difficult to get very many really great, scenic shots, but here's what I've got...

This is a close up (the only one I took... there were people literally hanging from the trees... like monkeys!! And ripping small branches off the trees, too. Did they not realize that these trees are a National Monument in and of themselves?? Would they chisel off a piece of the Jefferson Memorial?? I think not.... sheesh. Learn some restraint before you come out into public, people, really.) of the blooms:

Some of you may wonder how I made it out of there without my own dear, sweet little monkey taking home a blossomy souvenir of her own... well... see, it's like this. I lied to her. Yes, call CPS right now. She is constantly (and don't get me wrong - I adore this) appropriating blooms to give her mommy a little gift, but as we all know, there is a time and a place for everything, and I just couldn't have my sweet child becoming "That kid", you know what I'm saying?? So, on the way to the Metro I told her "Now Leah, there are only two rules today. The most important one is stick to mommy like glue. The second and almost as important one is: Do. Not. Pick. The. Flowers." With her love of all things floral I should have known she would latch onto the floral ban. Of course, she asked "Why, mommy??" Thinking on my feet as any good (cough cough) mommy would to come up with a suitably serious reason to a 4 year old I said: "It's illegal (yep, she knows what that word means)." Her eyes got really really round, the thumb went in the mouth and the blankie went to her face. She didn't say another word about it. And I didn't think anything of it until we were making our way back to the Smithsonian Metro stop several hours later to head home. Suddenly we heard police sirens, and two police cars went streaking past. Leah asked me where the police men were going. I responded absentmindedly "I don't know, baby..." Her melting, beautiful, sad (at that moment) brown eyes looked deeply into mine and she said "Oh mommy, I think maybe someone picked the flowers." I was stunned into absolute silence. I felt like the worst worm on earth in that moment. But I'm consoling myself that she has most likely already forgotten...

Anywho! Here's a shot of the Jefferson Memorial:

And here is the one and only decent shot of Leah from the day (notice the hot pink Peep clutched in her wee little hand)... the hordes (and I do mean hordes) of people out that day made it pretty difficult to get halfway decent shots. I had visions of gorgeous, card worthy pics of Leah amongst the cherry trees... so totally didn't happen! But, I like this one:

And here's the Washington Monument (you can see a bit how crowded it was... look along the railing at the edge of the Tidal Basin... wall to wall people.) from a vantage point about midway around the Basin:

Now this next shot shows one of the cooler moments of the day... we were walking toward the Jefferson Memorial and suddenly we heard this very loud, unmistakable helicopter sound. We had seen a couple tourist (or maybe news?) 'copters already so I looked up expecting to see another. Much to my amazement, this is what I saw:

Yep, it's Marine One! And I'm pretty sure Mr. Prez (or someone important, anyway) was in there, b/c the two "diversionary" replicas (is that the word??) were flying with it. It really was pretty awesome... they were very very low, and they were screamin' fast past the Basin and Jefferson Memorial. They buzzed the blossoms about 3 times, then were gone.

One last shot, then my little head needs to hit the pillow... this was a Rugby game going on along our route to the Jefferson Memorial. I took the pic b/c I wanted to try out my zoom lens for action shots... It did pretty well, I think. I was standing 100yds (or more? I'm horrible at judging distances!) away, and this is what I snagged:

All right y'all! That's it for me tonight! As always, thanks so much for taking the time to read!

Enjoy the rest of the week, and may you all enjoy the sensation known as "stitch a$$". :)

~Robin

Nine Years Ago Tomorrow....

2010-04-06T22:54:00.002-04:00

From our wedding invitation: "As my walk brings me closer to Christ, it is your hand I reach for along the way..."

Busy couple of weeks... "See" you all next week!

~Robin

Who Has a New Toy? I Do!!

2010-03-31T23:11:00.001-04:00

Hey there everybody!!

Apologies in advance for this post... I'm still fiddling around with photo layouts and uploading appropriately from Flickr, so if this comes out all wrong, I may have to delete it and re-post... with that in mind, I'm going to go easy on the wordiness just in case I have to re-post (*Note - I did, in fact, have to re-post, lol!!).

Not a whole lot has been happening in the Wright household... just your general day to day work and play.

Leah and I went to an Easter Egg hunt last weekend with one of her little friends from daycare and we had a blast. It was actually quite windy and chilly, but the girls didn't seem to mind - no pics from there, but stay tuned next week. We're going to the Mall and Tidal Basin in DC on Saturday (along with every tourist on the planet) with a small group my friends (and one of their daughters who is Leah's age) to get some shots of the monuments with the cherry blossoms, and enjoy what is supposed to be an absolutely spectacular day weather wise. So, maybe I'll have some pics to share from that jaunt.

Speaking of pics... I got an early birthday gift. :) It's something of a tradition in my house... my DH & I rarely manage to hold the gifts to each other as a surprise until the appropriate day. So, what did I get?? I got an awesome 100mm macro lens for my camera!!! Wahoo!!! I had been eyeing it for a while and saving my pennies, and mentioned it once to Ken as an offhand comment. Major points to him b/c he remembered. The day it came in, he got home from work and said "Would you like your birthday gift??" Silly man! Of course I would! My eyes about bulged out of their sockets when I saw the Canon box, lol!!

So, I've been playing around with it, and here are a few shots...

Tudor Rose scissors:

Sweet Roscoe:

And, of course I can't leave out stitchy macro shots, can I??

Here are a couple of not so close ups of where I am with Blessing:

That's it for me for this week... I am taking the day off on Friday (my gift to myself) and hope to get a serious case of Stitch A$$.

In light of the coming holiday I want to share something with you ladies. I've been (I apologize in advance for the digression) listening to the book Intervention by Robin Cook (Fabulous book, btw!! So interesting!), and as I've been listening (the subject matter of the book brought this to my mind) I've been reflecting that at times we women can struggle with our own value in the grand scheme of things... we are "just" homemakers, or (and I have caught myself saying this) "just" an f/t administrative assistant and mom. We go about the daily chores of keeping our families cared for and can sometimes lose the significance of the task we have been given amongst the mundaneness of everyday life and chores. And I've been thinking about Jesus choosing - upon His resurrection - to show Himself first (shockingly, for his time) to a woman and what a lovely demonstration that was to us women (aside from the Cross - obviously that is where His love is shown most beautifully to all of human kind) how well we are loved and valued by none other than the Lord. Just food for thought when your daily tasks might seem to be dragging you into obscurity. :)

On that note, I am wishing a beautifully blessed Easter (or, as we call it in my house, Resurrection Day) to all of you that celebrate the holy day. And to those of you that don't, have a spectacular weekend!!

Until next time!!!
Robin

Harper's Fairy

2010-03-25T00:41:00.008-04:00

Hey there everybody! How's it hangin'?

This post is going to be light on verbiage, but heavy on the pics... no stitchy update this week, although I have made decent (for me) progress on Blessing. The reason being the fantastic pic presentation dear Siobhan manages on her blog. She let me in on her secret (it involves Flickr, and Picnik) and I've spent the time I'd normally spend taking a progress pic and getting it loaded onto the PC figuring out the whole process (I'm slow at everything, apparently). So! Without further ado, here's what I've got!

Saturday was a stunningly beautiful spring day in our neck of the woods, and the DH had the day off so we decided to take a family jaunt to Harper's Ferry, WV.

We told Leah where we were going and told her it would be beautiful, and we'd enjoy the weather, and seeing the sights. We were about 10 minutes up the road and she started talking about how much she was looking forward to seeing the fairies, and wondering what kinds there would be there... ummm... hold on... what? It took me a few minutes, and then... aha! Of course being almost 5 and a girl she would automatically think of the pretty, fluttery beings in the Barbie movies she adores (no need to explain that "real" fairies are "so not Tinkerbells" {to borrow a phrase from Karen Marie Moning}!!). She looked a little crestfallen when I explained to her the difference between "ferry" and "fairy", but said she was still game to go have some fun in the little town.

And so, after a time we arrived...along with what appeared to be a large quantity of the population from the surrounding area (really, it was fine, crowded but not horribly so).

Walking into the town, we got our first peek at the dominating feature of the little valley:

This is a beautiful, old Episcopalian church (side note: my DH and I seriously considered getting married here b/c it is just so pretty, but couldn't - I can't remember why, but weddings don't happen there... or at least they didn't when we were getting married).

We decided to walk across the river on the footbridge to wander along the C&O (I think) canal for a bit. Here's a shot of the church looking back from the bridge:

I don't know if the placement of the church was purposefully planned so that no matter which way you look at the town it dominates the landscape, or if it was placed there to avoid floodwaters, or if that was simply the property the church had and so that was what they had to use, but no matter the reason, it is lovely from every vantage point.

We wandered along the canal for quite a ways (personal highlight: Leah coming across a very fresh pile of road apples {aka the final stage of horse feed}, shrieking that it smelled sooo ewwwwy, and running back down the path to tell me about it, then the positively priceless look on her face when I told her I don't mind the smell of road apples because it reminds me of the barn at Grandma Sheila's. Ha!!), and eventually Leah decided that the small branches that had fallen at the sides of the path needed to be thrown in to the river. Here's a shot of her gearing up for a toss:

We made our way back across the river, had a late lunch, then made our way up the hill to get to the church & Jefferson's Rock beyond it.

Along the way, I spotted this cool iron star nailed into the brick above a back door, and of course I had to take a picture of it:

So, up the awesome stone stairs we went to the church. Here's a shot standing right beneath it, just outside the courtyard fence:

And here's my Leah posing for the camera... she's usually really good about posing and giving me "real" smiles, (and I wish she would've done so here b/c the lighting is so good here I would've definitely been able to use this picture as my "school picture" replacements) but even though she's being goofy here, I still love this pic of her. Totally her personality shining through!

As we made our way up the hill past the church, we caught sight of the ruins of the original Episcopalian church... pretty amazing. There aren't a whole lot of genuine (and fairly well preserved even though they're ruins) ruins in the US simply because, well, we're pretty young. And I love me a good ruin! So atmospheric... can't you just imagine this on a misty, foggy morning as the sun comes up and you can really see the fog swirling around the stones (can you tell I read a lot of Nancy Drew as a kid??)?

Just beyond the ruin, I turned around to look back toward the church, and look what I saw:

Purty!

Then we finally made it up to Jefferson's Rock - yes, Thomas Jefferson. He visited Harper's Ferry and presumably sat on that rock and described the view as one of the most stupendous in nature. And it is beautiful.

Jefferson's Rock is actually a couple of large rocks that once sat atop each other, but are now bolted into the ground and the top rock is supported up off the face of the base rock by large steel pillars.

And, of course, my DH & Leah - being the adventurous souls they are - had to climb up on top of the rocks. I was petrified the entire time. Petrified I tell you!!! You see, the top of the upper rock is probably 7 or so feet from the ground you stand on around the rock. You're thinking, 'c'mon Robin! That's not so bad!' Yeah, it's not, however if one were to fall off of the rock you've got a looooong way to fall (or at the very least roll) 'til you hit the bottom of the valley. It's got to be a few hundred feet, and I really don't think I'm exaggerating. My palms are sweating just thinking about it! Here is Leah on the top of the rock:

I was, of course, most comfortable when she was sitting down on her little derriere... but of course, the little daredevil haaad to try to give me a heart attack (I swear I felt my heart muscle squeeze inside my chest) and stand up on it and try to walk around. I kept the camera glued to my face, though... probably so I could use the photos as a defense in my murder trial (the murder of my DH that is) in the instance my baby girl was harmed... "Yes ladies and gentlemen of the jury... but did you see the photographic evidence of the idiocy the poor slain departed was engaging in with this poor mother's one and only child in the moments prior to the alleged unfortunate event??"

Eventually it was time to go (there were other lunatics waiting to climb up on the rock), but not before I snagged one more shot of this beautiful little pice of earth (from a position safely on the ground directly in front of Jefferson's Rock {this should give you an idea how high up we were}):

And, that's all she wrote folks... okay, so it wasn't light on verbiage after all. :)

Thanks once again for taking the time out of your busy days to comment on my last post!!! I love love love hearing from you all!!! I'll be grabbing lunch to go and trying to get caught up on all your posts while at lunch tomorrow (it may, of course, bleed into the evening... please don't be offended if/ when I don't comment on your posts right away! I dearly love all of your blogs, I just seem to get limited computer time these days.)

Enjoy the rest of your week!!

~Robin

Ratted Out by my 4 Year Old & Loads of Stitchy Goodness

2010-03-17T23:32:00.002-04:00

'Sup my homeys? Oh wait... It's St. Patty's Day, let me try again... ahem...

Trathnona maith!! (Don't get too impressed... I Wiki'ed that!)

Well, it's been another busy (but great) week in the Wright household... First up, the stitchy lesson.

Leah and I went over to Jen's house for our "slumber party" Friday night. While the girls played (and wrote a very short play based loosely on The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe - then performed it for us as well) Jen & I got started on the "everything Robin knows about cross stitching" lesson. Since all I know can barely fill a thimble, it lasted about 30 seconds. Haha, just kidding.

Really all I did was give Jen a few pointers on things that have tripped me up, then she was off to the races. The girls had gone to bed, and we had just started to stitch, when my little bug began having her normal problems with going to sleep (Seriously, I don't know how she doesn't spend her days dropping off to sleep every few minutes. Sometimes I swear the poor child only gets 1/2 hr more sleep than I do.) which were exacerbated by the fact that we were in a different house. I had put in about 5 stitches on my own WIP when she came downstairs for the umpteenth time, and I decided to go lay down with her for a few minutes (assuring Jen that I would be back down very shortly to continue our stitching) to help her settle in. And that was pretty much all she wrote for me, lol! I don't even remember my head hitting the pillow. I woke up in the morning, and went downstairs to capture Jen's first ever progress pic! And here it is (Jen said she started nodding off over her stitching and was having to frog a lot, so she pulled out some mistakes then went up to bed herself):

She got a great start, didn't she? Oh, and you may notice something about this photo... This is NOT a Prairie Schooler design. Nope, it's Little House Needleworks' "Blessed are the Peacemakers." I swear some days that if my head weren't attached...

Anywhoze... So we enjoyed breakfast with Jen & her girls (her DH was in GA {I think} to attend some NCAA action), then headed home, then back out again a few hours later to attend what would turn out to be the best young child's birthday party (for a co-worker's son) I've ever been to (keep reading... the event for which this post is named is coming...).

It was at this really great kids' fitness place called Romp n' Roll. It was fantastic, I tell you!! There was fun "equipment" (including short monkey bars, one of those swingy things like trapeze artists use, and a moon bounce), the workers were all high energy, kept the kids involved and having a blast with a mix of self directed play and "organized" activities. They played high energy dance music (but nothing inappropriate for even the tiniest tot) the whole time which the parents and the kids loved. The highlight of the fun was an activity called "Freeze Dance". The worker (I'm sure they had some sort of silly title like "fun director" or something like that, but I have no clue what it was) played some great music and had the kids dance however they wanted, then she'd stop the music and the kids would have to freeze or be tickled.

So! My co-workers & I are standing there while this is happening, chatting and not really paying a whole lot of attention to the kids. One of them looks at the kids and says "Oh my goodness, look at Leah shake her booty, LOLOL!!!" We look over, and sure enough, there she is shaking her bom bom (aka: what her momma gave her) for all she's worth! Of course everyone erupts into laughter and the phrases flying around were along the lines of "I've never seen anything so hilarious in my life" and (lots of this one) "Where on earth did she learn to do that, hahahahaha!!!" I just laughed along with them all (really it was pretty stinkin' adorable) and shook my head and said "Oh wow, I have no idea"! (No way the hours Leah & I have spent gettin' our groove on to the Music Choice dance channel could've rubbed off on her. Uh-uh, no way). So, I had pretty well played it off like "Oh, she was just born that way, I guess", when the little goof ball turned around, looked directly at me, waggled her eyebrows, nodded her head (all the while keepin' her little tooshie shakin', of course!) at me and did the Pulp Fiction!!! Oh, it was all over then. All my co-workers looked over at me and busted out laughing, like - "Now we know what you do, Robin!!!" Ha!!! It wasn't embarassing, just hilarious!

After the party we went home, then my DH (Ken) & I went out on our first date night in probably two years. We saw Alice in Wonderland and it was wonderful. Apparently, about 20 minutes after we left, Leah asked our neighbor "So how long do dates last, anyway??" Hahaha!

Bla blah bla... Let's move on to the "stitchy goodness" portion of this post, shall we?

I've only hit the stitchy chair 3 times in the last 7 days, so there's not a whole lot of progress on Blessing, but here is where I am:

I must admit, I'm still not loving the leaves, and will be very glad to be done with them, which I should be shortly.

The rest of this post is going to be slightly embarassing... you see... I have a problem. My stupid fingers keep adding stash to online carts, and more... and more... and more... Below is what I've gained while waiting on the two items I originally planned to purchase from Market. Good grief, if they don't come in soon, I may need an intervention!!! (All pics should be clickable)

First up is scissors... ah, glorious scissors! I got the Kelmscott 'Steweb' scissors, Kelmscott's 'Tudor Rose' scissors, and the non-shiny ones are the pair I found in my antiquing/ second hand shopping adventures a few weeks ago.

Next up are my BBD acquisitions - an older pattern book (I got it b/c of a gorgeous sampler that's in it that I spotted on Terri's post of her Guild's BBD Day), and several 'newbies' to the BBD line-up:

Next is a random sampling of other miscellaneous patterns, a piece of 36 ct. fabric (which happens to be the exact shade of the walls in my room), and the 'Primitive Little Gems' scissors:

And now for the Christmas patterns I picked up (Really Robin??? I need more of these like I need another hole in my head):

And, my CHS finds (I've already got Frederick, and if I ever actually get the birdie couple stitched, I think they'll go in the Master bedroom):

*Note: The little black and white baby photo in all of these stash shots is Leah when she was... probably 8 or 9 months old...

I have a problem, I know. And, I have more coming!!! The Plum Street Samplers 'Queen' charts, 2 half yd. cuts of LL, another pair of scissors, and some thread. Aaaah!!! If I have a prayer of getting all of this stitched, I'd better live to be a hundred, lol!

I do believe I'm done stash enhancing for a while (...ummm... maybe I should have the stitchy retail sites blocked from my PC), but there is one thing I really want to get sooner rather than later (maybe with some of my refund from Uncle Sam?) - The Needlework System 4 Floor stand. Yup. Serious dough for that puppy. But, I think I need it. I have been noticing some issues with my right hand/ wrist lately. Of course, it might not be from stitching (I do make my living doing a lot of typing), but I feel I 'just can't be too careful'. Plus, I'm hoping it will help me stitch a tad on the more rapid side. So, I know Vonna loves hers... anyone else out there have one and want to add their two cents?

Okay, y'all... I'm going to sign off now. Thanks so much for all of your wonderful comments on my last post!! It is always so encouraging to read them, and hear what you all have to say. I really enjoy writing this blog, but it makes it all the more meaningful when people read it and think enough of it to actually comment! I'm going to try to get caught up on my post reading and commenting tonight or tomorrow night (you all are posting so fast I can't keep up, lol!). Until then...

Stitch A$$ to all, and to all a good night!

~Robin

Spring!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, and stitchy stuff, too...

2010-03-11T00:28:00.000-05:00

Halleluia, it finally arrived!!!!

I went outside Saturday morning, and glanced over at my neighbor's flower beds, and saw... daffodil babies! I whipped my head around to look for them under my tree so fast I gave myself a neck spasm, lol! And here are the little beauties (I don't think I've EVER been so thrilled to see them poke their heads out of the ground as I was that morning):

Note - This picture was taken in full darkness tonight (I haven't managed to get myself home in time to shoot a pic in daylight all week)... All I have to say is my camera has a heckuva on board flash!

So, after that point the weekend was a flurry of vitamin D absorption and fully disengaging from the iron grip of the winter hibernation I've been living under... I may even be moved to remove the "winter pelt" (as some who shall not be named, but who are HIlarious might say) shortly.

Saturday was gorgeous (it hit nearly 60 degrees!), so Leah and I spent a few hours clearing out and cleaning up the winter detritus from the front flower beds, and by the time we were done our front yard was 100% snow free! The back yard - being north facing, and 100% shaded until late spring - however, still has about a foot of snow. I think I lost my hydrangeas back there. :( The front beds were pretty well spared - the weight of the snow only decimated one (really, rather scraggly and ugly builder grade anyway) small tree/ shrub. Which, actually... is sort of okay with me. I might get my "Skyrocket" juniper after all!!

The fun continued on Sunday. Leah & I went with my friend Jennifer to the Woodlawn Plantation 2010 Needlework Show. Oh, was it ever wonderful! If you live in the DC area, you definitely need to make a trip to see it (it will be going on the entire month of March). Just lovely. How to even describe it... It's a beautiful (and appears to be well preserved) old manor house southish from Mt. Vernon. After you pay the admission (proceeds go to preservation of the plantation), and walk in... oh my. It's like a stitcher's dream come true. The walls in the central hall were nearly covered with the more traditional samplers (I hope I live long enough for my home to be even half so full - Siobhan, you've got a great start!!). Every room in the place was filled practically to the brim with needlework of all sorts. Embroidery, stumpwork, Japanese embroidery, needlepoint, crewel, blackwork, smocking, hardanger... I'm sure I'm missing some! Oh, and of course, cross stitch. It was very cool to see patterns I recognize, some I have in my stash, and some that are WIPs on your blogs. Let's see... there was Garden Glade, Janet Gibson's Sampler, And They Sinned, several Mirabilias (which of course, were Leah's favorites)... and so much more. Of course, there were also many that I had never seen before.

My friend, Jennifer asked me a lot of questions (she is not a stitcher), and it was wonderful, but at the same time humbling - oh, how little I know about anything other than cross stitch - and even that it was revealed to me that there are rather alarming gaps in my knowledge. It was really a good thing - I've been inspired to go find out more about this craft I love so much. At the very least read up on the other forms (I don't really have a desire to try many - if any - of the others), and get myself in gear and take some classes (online, or live) so that I can learn some stitches beyond the basic "x". I mean, really... expanding my horizons is a good thing, right? I've been looking at cross stitch books as well. One in particular I've been looking at is the Proper Stitch. Do any of you have it, and would you recommend it?

Anywho... Leah seemed to enjoy looking at all the "pretties" as well - I heard "Mommy, will you sew that for me?" more times than I can count, lol! She was such a good girl - I was so impressed with her! She really only had one mishap - she reached out to touch a beautiful ribbon embroidered silk bag (My heart squeezed looking at it, it was so beautiful... I wanted to touch it, too, truth be told!). Gah! I almost had a heart attack right there on the spot! The voice that came out of me when I said "NO!!" was foreign to my own ears, and it must have been even more so to Leah b/c she looked at me and I could almost see the thought bubble form right above her head. It went something like this "Who are you and what have you done with my mommy???" I was sort of surprised she didn't cross herself, lol! Oh, and don't worry, no beauty was marred.

After a while though (well over an hour - which was far more than I thought I'd get) she was "done", so my friend and I made our votes for "viewer's choice", and made our way outside. I challenged Leah to run laps around the "forecourt" as fast as she could to burn off some 4 year old energy, then my friend Jennifer took this wonderful picture of my sweet baby and I:

After we were done there, Jennifer & I decided to hot foot it over to In Stitches. I had never been, and since it is quite a distance from my home (due more to traffic, than miles) I wanted to take advantage of my proximity. Here's where it gets exciting, ladies!!!

You see, Jennifer is not a stitcher. I invited she and her girls to come along because I thought her two eldest - who knit very well - would be interested in seeing the show. As it turned out the girls had a birthday party to go to, but Jennifer decided to come anyway. Well!! On the way to the shop, Jennifer asked me if I would mind/ would it be any trouble to help her get started with stitching. Would I mind??? Would it be any trouble??? Clearly she didn't understand that verbiage of that sort is to a stitcher as waving the red flag is to the bull! :) OF COURSE I'd love to help!!!

So, in the end she came out of the shop with a small Prairie Schooler kit, a set of Q-Snaps, and a piece of 32 ct. LL Vintage Lt. Examplar (gotta start her off right!!). Leah and I are going to her place Friday night for a "slumber party"/ stitchy extravaganza. Ohhh, I can't wait! I'll be sure to post about that, and if she'll allow it, will post pics to go with it. Truth be told, I'm a little bit nervous. What if I tell her the wrong thing? What if I confuse her? Can I actually teach her? Who am I kidding?? But, regardless of my success or failure at explaining and instructing, I am sure she will figure things out just fine... She is one of the most intelligent women I know. Thank goodness! Takes some of the pressure off, you know!

Good grief, I need to end this post!

This week and last have been pretty hectic, so stitching time has been at a premium, but here is where I am with The Blessing:

Coming along quite nicely, all things considered (sorry about the craptastic pic.. I'll try for better lighting next time!).

Well, that's it for me for the night, folks! Thanks for all of your comments on my last post!! It was great to see input from you ladies re: audio books, and so great to see that so many of you share my love of books! So cool that we seem to have lots in common, isn't it?

Enjoy the rest of the week!

Robin

Waiting & Starting...

2010-03-02T23:45:00.001-05:00

Hola mes amiga(o)s!

Well, my head is still spinning from tonight's LOST episode, so the "this will be my blogging night" plan may not have been the wisest decision, but I'm going to give it a shot anyway. Consider yourselves warned, though... I may be typing jibberish by the end of the post!

First, thank you all SO much for your kind words re: my room (and my finish)!! They were all so encouraging!! I really love my little nook, and am so glad you all do as well. If there were room for everyone, I would be setting up a stitching party, stat! Glenna, if I weren't afraid of hosing up your walls, I'd gladly dress up in my "paint fairy" clothes and pay you a visit. ;) It is the only room in the house where I can be ultra feminine, and so I decided to embrace it whole hog. Well... really, I wouldn't want my entire house to be ultra feminine and romantic in style, but one room gives me enough room to play to get it out of my system, and keep the rest of the house safe from frills and furbelows, lol! I can't wait until Leah is a bit older! Then we'll get to play "super girly" in her room, too (minus the princesses)... uh... hopefully!

She was definitely born with her mama's yen for decorating... she adores it already. I find bits of ribbon, rocks, pieces of silk flowers, My Little Pony Memory game cards, random sticky items on the walls, (etc., etc., etc.) allll the time. It's absolutely adorable (well, except the sticky styrofoam pieces on the walls... any ideas how to get it all off w/o ruining the paint and walls?). I'll ask her "Hey Leah, how did such and such get here?" And she'll go into this long drawn out (at times HI-larious, but always cute) explanation of how it makes whatever spot look prettier. Apparently, she doesn't think mama has much decorating sense, because the things that are most often "decorated" are spots where I've got a vignette set up... if there's nothing sparkly, pink, or otherwise girlified it must be improved upon, lol! I'll take some pics and post some time.

See, told ya! I think my name tonight will be Ms. Tangent... I shall attempt to control myself. Here goes... attempt #1 to remain "on topic".

OK, so the plan was to visit my LNS on Saturday to pick up the items I requested from Market (well... I asked them to get a few things, and I ordered online for a few others) (one of which being PSS's The Queen's Sampler) kit up the two PSS charts, head home, and get stitching... yeah... not so much. By the time my LNS ladies got to the PSS display, it was all gone. So, it's on order. Thus, I find myself checking gmail about 100 times per day looking for the ship notification of half my purchases, and gazing longingly at my phone, checking it for missed calls, sighing forlornly as I wait to hear that the other half of my stash enhancement has arrived at my LNS. Ah well. Stay tuned for the stash enhancement post!

Since I didn't get to get going on (or even get my hands on) The Queen's Sampler, I pulled this out of the kitted up and ready to be stitched stash:

It is Examplar Dames Design Co's The Blessing, and here is the model photo:

Isn't she lovely (great... now I have that Stevie Wonder song playing on a never ending loop inside my brain)?? I've been wanting to start her for a while now, but kept putting other things ahead of her - I have no idea why, because I really love this. The only thing I'm a tad disappointed in is the leaves on the tree... the chart calls for WDW Noel, but the model photo color looks nothing like Noel. As a whole, the rest of the model photo colors look pretty true to life, so I'm wondering if it was originally charted to use a variegated thread that no longer exists and so the chart got changed but not the model? Meh, whatever... I still love it. :) I'm stitching it on 40ct LL Vintage Light Examplar with the called for WDW threads.

I started it late Saturday night (after a fabulous day w/ my DD), and have worked on it at lunch both days this week. Not tremendous progress, but I'm pretty happy with where I am. Especially considering the "condition" that has struck me recently (and, I might add, has shown no proclivity toward mercy)... Sudden Onset Stitchy Narcolepsy. I actually think it's the chair, b/c the same thing used to happen to me when I'd rock Leah to sleep in it - I would crash (and crash hard) in the chair, so much so that all I could do once I got up from it was to stumble (and hope I didn't fall down on the way) into my bed and fall straight back into a deep sleep. The more I think about it... it used to happen to my DH as well.... Ooooh, here's a theory: Maybe someone prayed over it before it shipped... something along the lines of "Lord, please bestow a peaceful and rapid descent into sleep for all those who use this glider." Yeah... that would pretty much cover what's been happening, lol!!

A couple of you asked about my audio book selections... well, here goes (Disclaimer: I'll try my very best to be brief... but once I get going on books and all things related to them, I have a hard time stopping.):

I must admit that in choosing audiobooks I don't typically go for the "high brow" "real" literature. No, not at all. I go for what some might call "trash lit". I prefer to call it fun, light reading. A few of my particular favorites are: Karen Marie Moning (I actually have all of these loaded on my iPod)... I really do love her stories (esp. the Fever Series!!), and I like the guy that narrates most of them - Phil Gigante (more on narrators in a minute); Mary Balogh, Stephanie Laurens (mostly her earlier stuff, though), Lauren Willig, Lisa Kleypas, Judith McNaught (when they aren't abridged), and Julia Quinn. I will also listen to others as they strike my fancy while I browse the library shelves. But typically, just very light stuff where not a lot of thought is required. If I want to read something more mentally hefty, I tend to actually pick up the book and read it. #1 I read much more quickly than the narrators = less time taken away from other things, and #2 if the book requires mental muscle I can't divide my brain sufficiently to stitch and listen at the same time.

Now my thoughts on narrators (I think it was Berit that mentioned this?) - I tend to prefer male narrators over the females. I think the main reason is that they seem to manage female voices far more believably than woman narrators manage male voices. That said, if I like the story enough, I can get past most performance flaws. There is one, though, that if present I simply cannot get past. And that is pacing. If the narrator is too slow I cannot listen. I have stopped listening to a few stories b/c of this - one was an absolutely wonderful book, but I juuusttt... coooouuldnnnn'ttt.... ttttoooolllleeeerrrate (you get the picture) how slowly the guy was reading. I have two favorite (and one that I cringe whenever I see her name on a title) readers: Phil Gigante, and Jenny Sterlin (she read all of the Laurie R. King Sherlock & Mary Russell books [well... all the ones I listened to] - that's a really great series, btw. very very well written, I thought). My least favorite? Ann Flosnik. Ugh. Like nails on chalk board. However... she narrates all the books in the series I'm listening to right now, and I'm able to involve myself enough in the story to somewhat ignore her voice. Anyway, blah blah blah... someone stop me, please!! :) Do you all have any favorite audio books and/ or narrators? I'm always up for recommendations!!

Well, folks, that's it for tonight! As always, thanks for taking the time to read, and comment. I savor each and every one. :)

Have a great week!
Robin

"Special Delivery", and My Room

2010-02-21T19:35:00.010-05:00

Happy Sunday, everybody! Are you ready for a pic heavy post? Coming right up!

First on the docket is my finish of Special Delivery (pics should be clickable... I'm pretty sure I did it right this time!):

Special Delivery

Blackbird Designs

40ct. cream linen, and Gentle Arts threads

It turned out just as well as I could have hoped for. The spacing on the letters could be a tad better (the "y's" and the "W" seem to be hanging out on their own a bit), but I am very happy with the overall effect.

I did have to make one thread swap - the chart called for GA Barn Grey and GA Banker's Grey on the left hand bird. I saw that they were very very close in color as soon as I pulled them, but as I started stitching Mr. Birdie I realized that they were so close in color as to be the same, offering zero contrast. So, I frogged, then I pulled out a dark steel grey DMC I have in my stash and subbed that in. Oh, and that specialty black fiber running through the heart next to the "M"? That is Fur de Roscoe. I didn't even notice it until I started looking at the pics on my PC while prepping for this post... I guess when it's everywhere all the time, my eyes just sort of bounce right off it, and don't even register its presence, lol!

The scissors in the top pic are a pair I came across in my adventures yesterday. They were $8, and are not particularly useable except to look pretty. But, they fit the bill perfectly for me. :)

My DH really blessed me (again) this weekend... see, he works as a retail manager, so entire weekends off are a rarity for him. He was off work all weekend (and has a couple more days to go) and decided to give me a mommy weekend. Just what the doctor ordered!!

So, yesterday I set off on a mission to get some more pretties for "my room". I hit Home Goods, the library, Michaels, a couple antique marts (OK, so they aren't exactly what you'd call 'high brow' and while some folks would look down on them with noses lifted, I know you all aren't amongst that company!), and Joann's before heading home with my loot. I got a couple of things (and already had a few) that needed some painterly love in order to fit in to the "feel" of my room, so I did that, then hit the hay.

Today, amongst laundry and other assorted mommy tasks, I finished Special Delivery and got everything in place in my room so that I could do a little show and tell.

So, grab your drinks and come along with me on a tour of my little haven of peace (Special Note - If you've got sweet tea, please transfer it to a sippy cup before entering - hehe) (Oh... another special note - The concept of "come along with me for a tour" has been shamelessly stolen from the fabulous Terri)...

Ah, here we are. Just inside the door and looking to the right. The gothic looking mirror was picked up at the local Cracker Barrel a few years ago, and was just hung up (note to self... go to the Cracker Barrel store more often... and, hang things up as soon as you get them!). The table under the white cloth is actually my grandmother's sewing machine (it's in one of those integrated sewing tables. Let me tell you what - even aside from the sentimental value - There isn't enough money on earth to get me to part with it. It can sew through about 5 layers of upholstery fabric. Worth it's weight in gold, I tell you!!). The paint treatment on the walls was done shortly after we built out this room (it was already framed out, and we had a friend drywall it, and add more outlets, and the closet) by moi. I saw the idea in an issue of BH&G and immediately set out to get the supplies. I stenciled, and paper ragged for several days. Very happy with the result is me! Let's move along, shall we?

This is my stitching corner. The trunk belonged to my DH's grandmother - I love how it's rough around the edges. It was obviously well loved and well used! On top of that is my trusty stereo which my DH purchased for the stockroom of his last store, and which I promptly appropriated for myself. :) The WIP on top of the stereo is going to be for my mom (if I ever finish it), and the item on the wall above is our wedding invitation lovingly framed and matted by my great aunt who has a gallery and frame shop in Biloxi, MS. The chair is my glider from Leah's nursery. Another piece of sentimental mush. I couldn't even begin to estimate the number of hours I spent in that chair nursing her, or singing to her, or just rocking her (and myself!) to sleep. She was NOT very pleased when I brought it downstairs from her nursery (which she hasn't slept in in two years, lol!!) for use in this room. When I explained that it wasn't being used, and that I needed a place to sit and stitch in my room, she desperately tried to convince me that there is room in her big girl room (on top of her bed, maybe??), or alternatively, that I should rock her to sleep in it every night in the nursery - anything to keep it in her sphere. She has adjusted to the trauma, though.

And, here's one of my favorite things to look at. This bookcase (also brought down from Leah's nursery) holds my chart stash, various stitching and quilting books, most of my fabric stash (lots of jelly rolls, layer cakes, fat quarters, and charm packs, lol - I am utterly unable to resist their lure!!), and my current stack of audio books from the library (I am fortunate that our library system has a HUGE selection of them). The ceramic artichoke and the tiny little fruit cup on the top shelf (which will eventually become a pincushion) were picked up along the retail therapy trail yesterday. On top is a collection of some of my favorite B/W photos of Leah with various people in my family. In front of the shelves, on the floor, we find the most crucial element in the entire room - trust me. If not for this little gem, I would never spend any time in there at all. My heater. Aaaah, my heater.

Moving right along, you see my current sewing machine (a gift from my dad and step-mom for Christmas a couple years ago) on top of one of my new storage bins.

And, here's the crafting table. One great thing about this room is that it is south-southwest facing which means it gets LOTS of sunlight. The shades were picked up at Target on sale when we first finished out the room. They are heavy enough that you can't see through them from the outside, but they still let in tons of light. Perfect.

And the other side of the windows along with the matching sconce (the other is on the other side of the windows) which received some paint and what was supposed to be a specialty finish last night (they were black), and the edge of the closet door.

Almost all the way around. Does anyone need to take a minute to sip their drink? OK. I love the shape of this little corner. It holds my floor stand (which I haven't used in ages, but might when I take on a bigger project), and a bunch of hooks to hold my q-snaps (the white ones also received the "specialty" paint last night), and a couple of plates (picked up yesterday) - the smaller plate was a serious "score!!" in my book. It is a Haviland Limoges, in absolutely perfect condition, and I got it for (are you ready??) a whopping $1!! Limoges is my absolute favorite! I saw others this size yesterday that were $30, or more. I picked up the plaque that is on the other wall at Hobby Lobby when I went to Muncie last year (not the trip earier this month). It is one of my favorite biblical verses.

And, here we are at the end of the tour. I hope you enjoyed yourselves!!

Well, I don't know about you folks, but I am SOOOO ready for spring!!! Reading all of your posts where you mention what's blooming in your neck of the woods, then listening to my current audio book with fabulous descriptions of all the spring bloomers, plus the really warm temps (it felt like it may have hit 50 degrees!!) today made me feel the need to get outside and dig around in the dirt, do some pre-season pruning. Then I looked outside. And saw the 3 feet of snow (that's down from nearly 6 ft - everything that came off the sidewalk and our parking spots went onto our postage stamp sized front lawn) still in our yard. Yeah. So much for a plan, lol!! It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so that along with temps in the 40s should put us well on our way to being able to see the grass. :) I don't think there will have ever been a year I'll have been so happy to see my daffodils poke their noses out of the ground! I do love snow (it sure beats just being cold - at least with snow there's something pretty to look at while you freeze your tuckus off!), but good grief, I'm done with this winter!

Well, that's it for me tonight! I'm not sure if I'm going to go start a new project, or continue putting my threads on tags, or what, but regardless - thanks for reading and commenting!! I just love sharing the joy of this craft with you all. :) Until next time...

May you all have numb hineys (uh... is that offensive??),

Robin

Almost...

2010-02-15T22:04:00.009-05:00

Hiya!

I am pleased to report that me & mine have come through the "one two punch" weather wise with very few battle scars! Man, I love me some snow, but that was just a tad on the ridiculous side, lol!! 30+ inches on Fri/ Sat, then another foot on Wednesday? Yeesh!! Leah's daycare was closed all week last week, as well as today. Which meant she spent the entire day with me at work Friday, and the afternoon there with me today. Poor kid... she is sooo ready to get back to her friends and her regular routine

There were several bright spots though, that more than made up for the hunkered down state we found ourselves in. The main one being we never lost power (thank God for underground power lines!!), not even a flicker!

We got to spend lots of quality time together - Leah and I hung pictures up in her room (that's been waiting to happen for about 2yrs now), which was a lot of fun. It's so cute to see her "design sense" coming out. Of course, she is 4 so her design sense = 1 small picture on each wall, lol. I tried to gently suggest to her that it looked a tad empty that way but she assured me that "Oh no mommy. That's the way it's supposed to be. That way there's plenty of room for you to make beautiful projects for me!" LOLOL I guess she told me, huh?

We played Barbies and Ponies and games and watched movies out the wazoo... I knew she needed a change of scenery Thursday when what she came up with during our play time together was a Barbie/ My Little Pony/ Killer Lambie theme. Not kidding!! Yeah, she was going a little stir crazy... Heeeeeeeeere's Leah!! (Please know I am totally kidding around w/ that last part - she is just about the sweetest kid you could meet - headstrong as all get out [absolutely NO idea where that comes from, BTW] but still sweet as can be).

I was able to keep pretty well on top of commenting on all of your lovely blogs - I think I was even the first commenter (instead of my usual dead last!) on one of your posts.

And, because I was able to do so much during the day, I got pretty consistent time in my stitchy chair in the evenings after my sweet girl went to bed. As a result, this is where I am with Special Delivery:

All I have left to do is finish the flower, do the big & little "T", then chart out and stitch her full name and birth date. I actually think the part that will take the longest (b/c it while drive me straight around the bend every time I look at it if it is not perfectly centered) is charting her name and DOB. I remember now why the birth sampler I did for my friend made me so crazy, lol!! I've really enjoyed this one, and although it will have taken me 3 calendar weeks to finish (That's the plan anyway!! Have it done NLT 2/21.), it feels like it has gone more quickly than almost any other I've done. It's kind of funny - for the first couple sessions with this piece, I found myself checking the fabric against a "this is for sure 40ct" fabric b/c the stitches looked GIGANTIC compared to the last one I did! I was having nightmares about running out of fabric b/c I had pulled the wrong count fabric and calculated "this is how much I need" incorrectly. My eyes have re-adjusted themselves, though :).

Sunday my DH & Leah really blessed me for Valentine's Day - they took me to my (sort of) LNS and let me buy things!! I was very pleased with what I came away with:

The top piece of fabric (all are Lakeside Linens 40ct.) is a stitchers' 1/4 of Pearled Barley; in the middle is a 1/2 of Light Examplar; and on the bottom is a 1/2 of Strawflower. The blue/ cream/ brown threads are Soie D'Alger and are for the Workbasket's "Stitch in Time" chart. I finally found a piece of brown linen that will work for this! Yay! The model was stitched on LL Cattail Brown, but that dye was discontinued and I couldn't find it anywhere (I didn't know this when I bought the chart, of course). While I was at the LNS I saw a piece of LL Nutmeg - score!! It's almost the exact same shade!! The green/ brown/ rust threads are NPI and are for Carriage House Sampling's "The Garden Glade" - they didn't have all the colors I need for the chart in stock, but that's okay. I got what I could b/c all of this was 20% off. They had had to postpone their annual Super Bowl sale due to blizzard #1 - worked out perfectly for me!! There is no way in Hades I would've been able to drag Mr. Money Bags... er... I mean, my DH... out there during the Super Bowl, lol!!

I've also gotten some organizing done in "my room"... bought a couple more drawer bins, hung some pics on the walls... it's looking much more tidy now, but also strangely empty and sterile... hmmm... I feel some trips to Home Goods coming in my future! Still plenty of room on the walls for me to hang the gajillion (cough cough) projects I will complete this year. I'll post some pics of the room as soon as it is looking a bit more cozy.

I am sooo looking forward to the Nashville Market haul that my LNS brings back!! I'm already plotting the sizable dent that will be made in my bank account! I am especially looking forward to the "Elizabethan" pieces from Plum Street Samplers. Liz I is my absolute favorite historical figure, and I cannot wait to get my grubby little paws on those charts (and the supplies to complete them, of course!)!! I also saw a pair of spider web looking scissors that I may need to add to my (still quite small) scissor collection. What are some items you are looking forward to in particular? I'd love to hear your "can't wait for..." items! This way I can be sure I don't miss an opp. to spend my cash, lol!

Well, that's it for me tonight. Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging comments!! I love and appreciate each and every one of them. It's so great to have peeps to "talk to" about this obsession I have with thread and fabric.

Wishing you all numb butts,

Robin

Thank You, Snowtorious B.I.G., a Finish, and Progress

2010-02-06T12:54:00.015-05:00

Hi there, everyone! I hope you are all warm, and dry, and enjoying your weekend!

First I want to say thank you so much for your kind words re: my grandpa's passing... It was such a comfort to read all your comments! He was a wonderful man, and we will all miss him. Mercifully, his final decline was of relatively short duration. In answer to Deb's question, that picture was of him holding Leah when she was about 3 or 4 months old. Tricked ya w/ the B&W photo, didn't I?

Stitchy pictures to follow, but first...

As most of you have probably heard, we are currently getting SLAMMED here in the Mid Atlantic by what our local NBC affiliate termed "Snowtorious B.I.G." - I seriously LOL'ed when I read that. I went out to shovel last night at about 12:30 and we had nearly a foot on the ground already. After about 45 minutes to get my steps and the sidewalk in front of our house cleared (we live in a TH, so that's only about 20 ft. of sidewalk), what I had just shoveled already had a good 2 inches, or more. When I got up this morning and looked out the window at what I had shoveled a short 10 hours prior, I swear I heard the sidewalk laughing it's hiney off at me... it may have even been pointing at me as it laughed! We have close to 30" on the ground at my house, and may get 5" (or more??!!) more before it's all said and done.

And the worst part is... I think this may be my fault... I left this little gem hanging after we took the Christmas decorations down:

Yeah... I've learned my lesson!!! :)

Here are some pics of the 'hood (or, as Leah likes to call it, our village) about 2 hrs ago:

Note the snow that has drifted high enough to nearly cover the hoods of the cars across the street... They've plowed our street a few times already, so hopefully we won't be trapped for too long. I looove snow, but it isn't really my idea of the greatest way to burn vacation days from work!

This is my front "stoop"... it was down to bare pavement when I went inside last night, and is sheltered pretty well from the wind. Oy!

And here's Leah and her daddy preparing to go for a walk around the neighborhood... the call of the snow was irresistable to them both. They lasted about 10 minutes. I think the wind slapping the snow into their faces is what did it. Leah came in begging for hot cocoa, and a warm bed, lol!

We haven't lost power, but I hear that thousands in our area have - I hope those folks are all staying snuggled up and staying warm(ish) and dry inside their houses!

On to stitchy things... :)

I finished (really!!) The Sewing Clamp Sampler Bits stitching, and here she is:

Stitched on provided 40ct "Muffin" linen over 1 thread with provided DMC thread

The one over one was not too bad once my eyes adjusted, but, especially with such dark thread, it was a bit hard to tell what I was stitching. There were times I just stabbed at what I hoped was the appropriate hole! I'm hoping to finish finish this little doo-dad in the next few weeks, but who knows if I will get to it that quickly, or not.

One note on this kit - The kit description claims that the clamp part is wrought iron, and that made sense to me given the price. It is NOT wrought iron. It is a heavy metal, painted with a powdery dark brown paint. I discovered this when I was loosening the clamp to attach it to something (to see how well it would clamp) and little bits of paint started flaking off into my hand, and silver started to show up. I don't mind per se that it isn't wrought iron, and I probably would have wanted it/ bought it even knowing up front that it wasn't... however, I feel as though I was intentionally misled, and I do not care for that. I will not be buying any kits that include "hardware" from this designer again, for that reason. She also has a pair of scissors for sale, which I was considering purchasing, but due to what happened with the clamp, I don't feel I can trust the description on those, either.

On to happier things!!

I started Blackbird Designs' Special Delivery Girl's Birth Sampler on the way to IN, and here is where I am:

I was looking through blog updates last night (but not commenting - I'll do that as soon as I post this) and saw, to my amazement and amusement that Siobhan had posted her pic of this finish! All I can say is... that Siobhan sure does have good taste!! :) I'm working it on 40 ct. generic cream linen with the called for threads. I love this pattern and have been wanting to/ meaning to complete it for some time now. It seems to be going somewhat quickly, and if I could just get some consistent time in my stitchy chair, it would get done pretty soon, I think!

Well, that's it for me for now... I'm considering spending the rest of my day hanging pictures in Leah's room & bathroom, and maybe finally putting some pics up in my "Nest" (aka, my craft room, my throne room, the room for none but she who rules this home)... maybe if I do that, it will motivate me to do the little bit of organizing I need to do in there and take some pics and post them on here for all to see? Hmm... we'll see!

Until next time,
Robin

In Loving Memory...

2010-01-29T02:03:00.005-05:00

My grandpa...

Richard Elondus Smith

September 4, 1927 ~ January 28, 2010

How is it already almost the end of January??

2010-01-23T12:24:00.018-05:00

Hiya peeps!! I hope you all had fabulous holidays and that your new year has gotten off to a great start.

I've been a stranger to blog-land lately, and I'm not going to be bashful about assigning blame. I wish I could say it's b/c I've been so busy stitching (and I have done some in the past week or so - pics later on in this post), or so busy reading & commenting on all your fabulous blogs that I haven't had time to update my own, but I can't say that... It's all Facebook's fault. Well... really Super Poke Pets on Facebook. Never fear, though. I've checked myself into SPP rehab and am happy to say I've been "clean" for over a week now. Wahoo.

So, here I am, back to spending my (oh so abundant) free time on what I really love - stitching! I hope to get caught up on reading and commenting on your posts shortly, and I have a bloggy request for you at the end of this post.

But the most amazing part of this post? I have finishes! Yes, plural!! I know, I know... it's rare, but true.

First up is the Olde World Santa ornament:

Umm... okay, so he's not really finished. I didn't remember that, lol!! I didn't have the pink thread for his cheeks, but got it a couple weeks ago, then forgot to finish him up. Oops! He's not finish finished either - I have a whole 11 months to tackle that fearsome task. Something tells me I won't do it until oh... November or so. :) .

Next up is the Sampler Girl's Emily Dickinson Sampler:

I think it turned out nicely, don't you? Now all she needs is a lovely frame and she'll be ready to go on the wall in Leah's room. I stitched her on 40 ct (not sure what brand and color - I really need to get better about noting that stuff) with DMC threads.

I also got the awesome thread keeper system that I first saw on one of your fabulous blogs - I'm sorry... I can't remember whose blog I saw it on! I really really love this. Admittedly, it takes a while to get the threads hooked up on the little tags, but it is definitely worth it to have all my thread organized and in one place - if nothing else it will keep me from buying duplicates. I haven't gotten all my thread done yet - I've got lots of DMC to put on the keepers. These are called Annie's Thread Keepers, and I got them from Nordic Needle. Here are a couple pics:

And I've begun a new start. It's the Sewing Clamp (Sampler Bits pattern) from the Heart's Content:

It was a Christmas gift from my DH. I chose it to be next because I thought "oh, it's nice and tiny, it should be a super quick finish", and because I looove it. Lo and behold I open up the kit only to discover - it's done over 1 on 40 ct. Ack! Never done that before! So, it won't be done quite as quickly as I anticipated, but I still am excited about it. I don't think I'm going to finish it the way the kit calls for it to be finished, though. I've seen another pincushion finishing technique on a couple of Homespun Elegance pincushions that is more to my taste, so I think I'll give that a shot. Here's where I am with it:

I worked on it for about 45 minutes last night (this gives you an idea why I finish things so slowly!), and am hoping to get quite a bit of stitchy time in this weekend, so you never know - this finish could come pretty quickly.

OK, I have a request - I know I'm missing out on a lot of fabulous blogs, so I was thinking "Self? Maybe your faithful blogging buddies could recommend their favorite 1 or 2 (or 3) stitchy blogs." If you'd like to help a sister out, just leave your recommendations in the comments on this post.

Thanks for reading ladies (& gents?)!! I'll be "seeing" you soon!
Robin

2009-12-13T12:20:00.007-05:00

Hiya folks!

Wow... time flies by these days, doesn't it? This is such a busy time of year, but I absolutely love it! I'm sad to admit that I haven't put in a single stitch since my last post, lol!

Lots of Christmas preparation going on... shopping, decorating, and (amazing but true - for this area, anyway) a pretty significant snowfall which enabled me to get out with Leah and act like a kid for a couple hours.

So, in lieu of stitchy pics, I will share "pics of the season". :)

First, house pics - I'm done with the decor... for this year, anyway!

The tree in the living room... I always enjoy decorating the tree! Pulling out all the ornaments - some from before I was born - and recalling how I got them, the stories associated with each one. It's such a wonderful sense of nostalgia. It's especially great to start sharing these stories with Leah now that she's a little bit older. It's adorable to see the reverence she displays towards them after I tell some of the stories (i.e. "Mommy's grandma made that one.").

This is the little sitting area off the kitchen -it feels so cozy with the lights on, and the books all around. I've spent quite a bit of time sitting in here after Leah goes to bed just absorbing the peace.

And my Annalees... I looove these little things! They are so stinking cute!! I've been collecting them for a couple years now - I found them initially at Home Goods at an amaaazing amount off their original prices. 50 - 60% off! They aren't the current year's pieces, but that doesn't matter to me. I just love the nostalgic homey feel they have.

And now for the snowy afternoon pics. Before we went outside, Leah & Roscoe were having a blast watching the snow come down - Roscoe was beginning to get really ticked that he couldn't catch the snowflakes!

Leah and I finally made it outside about mid-afternoon... unfortunately, I don't have many pics, b/c I was afraid my camera would get too wet, and be ruined... Here is one that I thought was particularly cute, though:

Well, that's about all I've got for this go 'round! Thank you all for your comments - you ladies are wonderful! And, Siobhan - thanks for the pointer toward finishing instructions for my ornament! As soon as I get it finished I will hop right over there and check it out.

Have a fabulous week, everyone! With Christmas only 12 days away (Ha!! Really? I feel like breaking into song, now... but I'll restrain myself!), I'm sure we will all be pretty busy. Enjoy the season and make some fabulous new memories!

~Robin

Happy Thanksgiving (and Some Stitchy Stuff)!!

2009-11-24T20:52:00.002-05:00

Hi, y'all! Howz it hangin'?

It's been a pretty busy couple of weeks in my neck of the woods... my company had their annual symposium, which went well... but far more exciting than that is - I went to see New Moon with a couple of my friends and maaan did we enjoy it. It had nothing at all to do with a certain Mr. Lautner and his rather amazing body. No, I did NOT just type that about a 17yo kid, lol!! It also had nothing to do with the always dreamy Robert Pattinson... nooo nooo... nothing at all to do with those lads. :) It was good and I did love it - even aside from them. I thought it was far better than the first. One of the more entertaining aspects of the whole experience? All the tweens (literally) screaming their little heads off every time Jacob showed up on screen, lol - my friends and I were cracking up! I can't wait to see Eclipse - I think I read that the release date will be June 2010? Wahoo!

OK, on to stitchy stuff... Stitching time has been rather limited in recent days (or should I say evenings since, unfortunately, I don't get paid to sit at my job and stitch! I wonder if I could work that somehow??) so I still haven't completed the ED Sampler, but here's where I am with it:

I think if I can get a solid few hours of stitching in, I can finish it. I'm really liking the way it is turning out!

And in honor of the Christmas spirit that has overtaken me (earlier than usual, I must say), I've started stitching up ornaments - this is the first one:

It's on 32 ct. linen, with the called for DMC - this is one of the Santas in the Prairie Schooler's Old World Santas II pattern leaflet. I'm not sure if any of these will make it into gifts - I'm actually a little nervous about the finishing (to make them into ornaments) so we'll have to see a) how many I can finish in a reasonable time, and b) if I can manage to not hose them entirely when I attempt to finish finish them

Well, that's all for me for now kids! As always thanks for your comments ladies!! I love getting and reading them!!

I hope you and your families have an absolutely splendid Thanksgiving!!!

~Robin

New Start!

2009-11-08T17:37:00.005-05:00

Hi there!

First things first: Thanks so much Deb, Terri, and Siobhan for your wonderful comments on my last two re-start posts. :) You ladies were always my most faithful commenters and it was so lovely to hear from you again right away. Thanks so much for welcoming me back into the bloggy fold so to speak. It's been great to catch up with all of you via reading your recent posts.

OK, on to new things. I worked on piecing my quilt for a while and got all the 4 patch blocks pieced (and all of my corners are perfect I am pleased to say!) but then I had to start the triangle pieces and got frustrated, so I decided I should put it on hold and re-start it at a later date. So, I picked up the Sampler Girl's Emily Dickinson Sampler. I had stitched most of the first two trees up at the top, and here is where I am now: (re-started 11/1):

I think I made a mistake with my fabric selection because unless you're looking at it in bright daylight you can barely see the green on the trees. Oh well... I refuse to frog it, lol!! :) This will go in Leah's room when it's done. I'm stitching it on 40 ct. linen with DMC.

I think the plan until Christmas is going to be to work on ED at home in the evenings after the wee child is in bed, and work on some Christmas ornaments during my lunch hours at work. We'll see how much I get done... then the finish finishing of those will be a whole new adventure, lol!

Not much else going on. I got Leah's Christmas pics done (I took her to a field in our neighborhood and took about 400 shots - overkill do you think?), so now I just have to pick out a couple to get printed up for family and friends. None of them will be posted here (although, my new profile pic is one of them) just in case a picture recipient reads the blog. Can't ruin the surprise, you know.

The weather was absolutely stunning here today and we went to the C&O canal aqueduct and tramped around on the trails and just had a glorious day in the great outdoors. Maybe I'll post a few of those pics in another post, because I did get some really pretty shots. That'll have to wait though at least until I get them off the camera and onto the PC.

This week I'm up for jury duty, and am off the hook for tomorrow, but we'll have to see what happens with the rest of the week. Maybe I'll be able to get caught up on some reading (I don't think I'd be able to take scissors and needle into the courthouse, sigh).

Alrighty kids, that's about all I've got this go 'round... Have a great week!!
Robin

Leah's "First" Halloween

2009-10-31T20:34:00.002-04:00

Hi y'all! Sorry, I couldn't resist posting a few pics of Leah in her first Halloween costume. She originally wanted to be a ballerina, but as soon as we got to the store (I love me some TJ Maxx!!) and she saw this, her mind was made up. Thank goodness it fit!

Her reaction to having it on in the dressing room was: "Oh mommy!! It's perfect!! It's like a dream come true!!!" Who could've resisted that?? I tell ya, the kid is too cute for her own good sometimes with the things she says!

Of course, my camera was stuck to my face for this. I got some really cute shots, and these are my three favorites (I decided I need to exercise some restraint and not torture you with alll the pics, lol!):

I hope you've all had a spooktacular Halloween!!!
Robin

It's Been Awhile...

2009-10-29T10:55:00.006-04:00

Hi there everyone!

First (and I promise - there is "fun stuff" after this...), thank you all so much for your lovely supportive comments when my husband's mother and brother passed away... As you all know, my MIL was somewhat expected as she had been battling for quite some time. She had contracted MRSA at the end and it was just too much for her body. God really blessed her final day with us... She got her hair done in the morning, ate some ice cream (this was the first thing she had eaten by mouth since she went into the hospital in Feb.), and, most exciting for her - she met Joe Theismann!! He just happened to be in the hospital and my hubby ran into him on the elevator. He told Joe what had been going on and that mom was a HUGE Redskins fan (her blood ran burgundy and gold, I tell you). Joe went by mom's room for a visit and actually spent quite a bit of time chatting with her. She passed peacefully about 2 hours later.

My brother in law was entirely unexpected. He was fine one day - in fact, he went to work the day before he died - and passed away early the next morning. He had begun feeling unwell the night before with stomach flu type symptoms. We still don't have final autopsy results, we only know it wasn't H1N1.

We are starting to get back to normal... the grief is still there, especially for my husband and his siblings... even Leah commented this morning that she is really sad that Memaw is gone. But she's happy that Memaw will be with her in her heart forever. Aww... don't kids just get right down to the bottom line in the sweetest way?

My stitchy/ crafty mojo has been gone until the past week or so. I've finally started slowly piecing that quilt I had cut the fabric for. As soon as I have any real progress to show, I'll post pics.

Now on to the fun stuff!! We went to Orlando in September and had a blast (this is a pic heavy post, I'm afraid)!! We visited Sea World, and all the Disney parks. We rented a house in Kissimmee which was sooo nice. It had a pool & hot tub, and you know we were in them every night. :)

I really put my camera through it's paces while we were there (I took around 2,500 pics - overload, I know) and below are a few of my faves...

I think this is my favorite pic from Sea World:

We loved the Shamu show so much we went to see it twice. It was way better than I remembered it from my last visit to Sea World (an almost embarrassing # of years ago).

Here's a pic of Leah as we left one of the shows there. I just thought it turned out so well, I couldn't resist posting it:

We visited Epcot, which wasn't Leah's favorite but which the grown ups loved. She met a few characters there which made it more bearable for her, I think. There was a really great band there called Off Kilter which we watched a couple times. They are a sort of Celtic Rock band - they're good enough I'd buy their CD. Here's a shot of the golf ball:

And, of course, we went to the Magic Kingdom two days. Leah ADORED the Magic Kingdom. Had an absolute blast meeting princesses, and riding roller coasters. Yep, you read that right, riding roller coasters. She rode the kiddie one first, then decided she wanted to ride Thunder Mtn. I was very uncertain (I want a roller coaster buddy when she's older since my hubby doesn't ride them, so I was afraid it would terrify her, and she'd never set foot on one again), but she loved it so much she rode it twice! That's my girl!!!

We also had breakfast in Cinderella's castle. It was absolutely wonderful... but the best part was Leah's reaction when we gave her her "invitation". Ever seen footage from Beatle's concerts where the girls are just losing it? Well, that's pretty much what Leah did. It was awesome. :) Here are a couple of my favorite shots of the castle.

Here are a few shots of Leah with her favorite Disney characters (she met all the princesses except Pocahontas, but I thought I'd post more variety than just princesses). Note the uptilted "model foot" in the shot below:

Pooh & Tigger spent almost 10 minutes interacting with her - she felt sooo special!

This is Leah meeting Ariel... it was adorable to see her meet all the characters, but this was just classic... she was so excited it was as though she couldn't quite decide what to do with herself. Couldn't smile right, was soooo trying to sit just exactly perfectly. It was fabulous!

And here she is with Mulan - Leah looooves girl power!

Let's see.... not much else going on. Leah has been through and recovered from a bout of pneumonia (seeing her w/ the nebulizer on her face was sooo sad, but she was such a champ!), I've been sucked into the online vortex known as Facebook (If any of you are on there let me know!), and that's about all my news.

I hope to not be such a stranger now that I'm "back"... can't wait to get caught up with what's going on for all of you!

Peace out!!

Robin

In Loving Memory

2009-08-21T23:37:00.003-04:00

Dorothy Faye Wright

July 29, 1936 - August 20, 2009

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edward Dwayne Wright

March 4, 1960 - August 19, 2009

Finish Finishes!!

2009-08-01T11:57:00.006-04:00

Hi y'all! How's it hangin'? Things are going pretty well and pretty much business as usual here. One bit of good news - I do NOT have PCOS. :) Nor is my prolactinoma acting up, nor am I going into early menopause. Phew!! I was very happy about all that. On the other hand my doctor's "official" diagnosis was not exactly helpful... what was it you ask? TTDTM. This is a syndrome you ladies are all familiar with - Trying To Do Too Much. So, yeah. Not terribly helpful, there. So, I'll be trying to eat healthier, and get more (read: some) exercise and see if that helps. Thanks so much for all of your wonderful comments! It was a wonderful blessing to have people I've never even met IRL share my burden and give me words of encouragement. You ladies are awesome!

My mother in law celebrated her 73rd birthday on Wednesday. It was especially sweet because that was a day we really did not think she would see this side of Heaven. She gets better bit by bit day by day... a slow but steady pace. Leah and I went to see her today, and although she was very out of it and confused, she was better than the last time I saw her.

So! Since I last posted, I've framed 3 more pieces. As Tanya said in her comment on my last post - it got easier every time. Now I just need to finish another stitchy project quickly so my skillz don't decide to rusticate and leave me high and dry! So, without further ado, here they are in all their glory... Mr. & Mrs. Abbott together is first in the line up (please ignore the somewhat clashing green wall... I'm dying to repaint our living room, but every time I mention it my husband has a mild coronary... I'm taking that as a "no" :)... for now):

Then comes the little Missus:

Then, the master of the Abbott household:

Then a close up shot of the frame. It's mostly a very dark dark brown with that lovely gold inner trim, but it also has some "worn" spots that reveal this awesome reddish tone that really brings out the reds in the stitching. I love these frames!

Last but not least in my framing report is the Border Study (designer: Heron House Designs) I finished stitching in early February of this year. It was supposed to be done in red, but I chose a really deep midnight blue from DMC instead. This was my first piece done on linen, and after I got the hang of it, I realized that there would be no going back to stitching on Aida (Wheels Announcement notwithstanding, of course). This piece now graces the wall in my office at work. I really love this frame, too. It's a sort of powdery black with some really nice scallopy type stuff (yes, that is the technical phraseology) - no close up on this one, but if you click on the pic you should be able to see it pretty well.

And, at long last, I shall leave you with a pic of Roscoe doing his very best impression of Godzilla in Leah's dollhouse. I have been dying to get a pic of him in here (he does this whenever Leah & I are in her room playing) for ages now, but until today every time I'd jump up to race for the camera, he would always likewise jump up and follow me to see what I was doing. Little stinker. Anyway, here he is in all his little cuteness' glory:

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend, get lots of stitchy (or just relaxation) time!!! I've been real lax in commenting (I have a Facebook addicted husband, so by the time I'm done getting the child in bed, and finishing up any household tasks I've set for myself he's usually logged in and not to be budged), but I am about to correct that gross oversight as soon as this post is cleaned up and posted.

Peace out!

Robin

A Finish and a Finish Finish

2009-07-20T21:38:00.003-04:00

Hi y'all!

Well, it's been another busy week and then some, but here - at way too long last -is Mr. Abbott! Sorry about the pic - I don't know what my problem was, but I just couldn't seem to get a very good shot.

My little darling Leah wanted to get in on the photography action... she looooves posing for the camera. She just couldn't understand why I had the camera out but wasn't taking pictures of her. So, here she is givin' the camera (and Mr. Abbott) some love:

And here is Mr. Abbott & the Mrs... together at last!

I've got the framing supplies for the Abbott family on order from Joann's and they should be in this week.

This weekend I finally framed the piece I made for my friend Amy - I had been hesitating because I was afraid of irrevocably messing it up. But with Vonna's tutorial, it was super easy! Believe me - if I can do it, you can do it!! I do admit, though, that I had to re-pin once. It was my own fault for thinking I could just eyeball it. Lesson learned!!

It turned out pretty well, I think. I don't know what the crease looking thing in the top middle is - it must be a reflection because I promise, there is no crease in it.

So, I went to Joann's on Saturday and picked up the frame above (side note - this was a very oddly sized piece, and I was shocked to find a ready made frame w/ a mat that would fit it reasonably well), along with ordering the framing supplies for the Abbotts, and for my Sampler I finished earlier this year. I have to say... it wasn't cheap! Yikes! Probably because I did buy glass to go in the frames (so far, I'm a glass girl - that may change, though). The lady that helped me said I saved about $100 total by just getting the supplies for all 3 pieces. Oof. That's a chunk o' change. So, thank you, Vonna, for your wonderful instructions! I'll post pics when they're all done.

A quick update on my MIL before I go - she is doing a bit better. She moved to a nursing home from the hospital a few weeks ago, and is more physically mobile, and has been pretty sharp mentally as well. My hubby saw her today and said she was really loopy, but we're thinking that is just the pain meds. So, right now it's a waiting game -waiting for her to be healthy enough to have the surgery again to attempt (again) to repair the intestinal ulcer.

I've had quite a shock medically speaking this past week as well. I went to my OB/Gyn last week with a laundry list of complaints. Well, while he was doing the exam portion, he caused me considerable pain (I'm no wuss, either folks) so, given my list of symptoms (the biggest one [to me] being extreme exhaustion ALL the time - the likes of which I haven't experienced since I was pregnant with Leah - So bad I have caught myself nodding off in my office in mid afternoon, and have been afraid several times that I was going to fall asleep at the wheel on the way home - especially disturbing once I've got Leah in the car) he decided to do a sonogram right then. Turns out the exam hurt because I've got a bunch of cysts on my right ovary. So, given my other symptoms, he made a "probable" diagnosis of PCOS (poly-cystic ovary syndrome). I was shocked. He also ordered a bunch of blood work, and those results should be back tomorrow to confirm (or not) his diagnosis. I'll also be going to see a reproductive endocrinologist, and having a sleep study done. I don't have the more "visible" symptoms of PCOS, but as I read more and more, I think he might be right. I'll just have to wait and see, right? One thing I have decided as I've researched this disorder - the human body is such a miracle, isn't it? A delicate balance of hormones, and triggers... it's a miracle anyone's body works the way it "should".

So anyway, blah blah blah. It'll be interesting to see what this week holds! :)

I have so enjoyed reading you lady's posts! It is wonderfully inspiring to watch the progress of what you all are working on - it spurs me on to work on my own projects, and is so lovely to share this interest with you all! Thanks so much for your comments - they are especially special to me because I know how busy you all are, and how little time you have in your full lives. So, thank you!

Have a fantastic week!!!! ~Robin

My What a Difference a Couple Weeks Makes...

2009-07-07T18:57:00.011-04:00

Wuzzup my homeys???

From your posts it seems you are all enjoying the summer, and doing well. I am so glad! As for me... I feel I have finally rejoined the land of the living. :)

About a week and a half ago a good friend of mine (Arin) and her husband (Tim) took Leah for a full 24 hours (they had a blast - went to the zoo, went out to eat, watched a movie, went to the playground... if I were smarter I would've sent some of the great pics Tim took to my home email so that I could've included one here - ah well). While she was with them, I met my dad & step mom for lunch, then headed to Target for a bookcase for Leah's room (with bins, of course), came home, read about 1/2 a book, built the bookcase, cleaned up Leah's room and stashed all the toys in the bins, then busted hump cleaning up the house.

The house cleaning project has continued (I just took a truckload of baby stuff that we will never need again to Salvation Army - ahhh... sweet sweet clutter busting!!!), but I finally feel I am on top of it, and it hasn't slipped further down the slippery slope to chaos. The place certainly ain't pristine, but it is about as clean as anyone working full time with a 4yo (and, yes, I'll admit it - hobbies I choose over housework any chance I get!) who can't afford a maid is going to get it. So, it's all good.

But, my household woes are not why you come here, so let's get to the good stuff, shall we??

I have made a tiny bit of progress on Mr. Abbott in the last couple of weeks (see pics below). I've only stitched a couple times, but am going to be making a real push to get him done. Joann's is having a framing sale through the 18th, so I want to get him done NLT then. At which point I'll take Mr. & Mrs. Abbott, and the Border Study I finished in January (February?) over there, get them framed and ready to put on the walls. Anyway, without further ado, here is Mr. Abbott:

I've also been bitten by the quilting bug again recently. This is 100% the fault of two really great books I've found which show patterns that use those addictive little fabric packs known as jelly rolls, charm packs, and layer cakes. Oh.... this is a sweeeet addiction! I don't know about you, but I loooove fabric... but quilting fabric is so stinkin' expensive to buy by the yard, it's hard for me to suck it up to buy it that way. Plus, the time it takes to acurately cut those large pieces of fabric so I can actually use them?? Yeh... not so much. So, these pre-coordinated bundles are a financial and time saving dream come true!! And oh my.... soooo beautiful!!! I've added several packs to my (still pretty much non-existent) stash recently, and one of these great books has a pattern in it that I'm going to try.

I am a seriously newbie quilter, and as much as I want to eventually create amazing works of art in quilt form, I recognize that it will take some time to get there. So, hopefully these simpler patterns will help me bone up on my piecing skills, and on my hand quilting skills as well. I have only made one quilt, and it was about as simple as it gets:

This is the quilt I made for Leah for Christmas '08. Yes, it is just stripes, and yes, I agonized over the cutting, and the piecing, LOL! I even had to frog and re-piece one of the stripes. It's 48" x 48", and was machine pieced, and hand quilted with straight lines 1" apart throughout. For a first quilt, I was pretty happy with the way it turned out, and Leah was so excited when she opened it that it made every moment of quilty angst totally worth it.

Anyway, back to the current project, and the great books. The name of the book I'll be using for this quilt is Layer Cakes, Jelly Rolls, and Charm Quilts by Pam & Nicky Lintott. They also have another book called Jelly Roll Quilts which I also bought and which has a ton of quilts that I absolutely love. Now, you experienced quilters out there (Deb, you da bomb!!!) would probably flip through these books and find the quilts way too elementary for your skillz, but let me tell you, they are right up my alley! :) Here is the pattern I'm going to tackle:

I'm going to use more vivid fabrics with it (the stars will still be off white, though) that came in a layer cake. Here they are, cutting complete (well, except for the fabric for the stars - for that, I'll have to cut a dreaded yard o' fabric - duh dah duuummm!!!):

These are the most beautiful fabrics I've ever worked with. Sooo soft, with a really gorgeous, subtle sheen to them (not the high shine of the older chintzes).

So, the plan is - finish up Mr. Abbott, and work (sloooowly) on getting this quilt pieced. I am deciding btwn. a few different stitchy projects to pick up once the Abbotts are complete. I'm debating between John Foster (pic'ed here in an earlier post), Garden Cat (by the now defunct Birds of a Feather), and Thou Shalt Not Nag (can't remember designer). It's a toss up at this point! :)

Thanks again for your wonderful comments - you ladies were a HUGE source of encouragement after my last post, and I can't tell you how much I appreciated it!!! Really - you all are the best! I feel like we could all get together for coffee (and dessert and stitching of course) and sit together for hours with no lags in conversation or awkwardness. So, thanks again!

Until next time - happy stitching (ugh, I really need to find another "tag line")!!

~Robin

Breaking Radio Silence

2009-06-23T22:38:00.003-04:00

Hiya folks! No progress pic in this post, I'm afraid, because no progress has been made to speak of (well, 20 minutes, but that doesn't seem worth a pic to me)...

It's been a rough few weeks, and I find myself in a place where my stitchy (and garden... and really everything but reading for about 20 minutes before I crash) mojo is gone.

My MIL is still in the hospital (she left to go to a nursing home a few times, but was generally back at the hospital within a week each time) and crashed really badly again. We all thought that it was the end of the road this time. My brother in law flew in from TX, we all spent a few nights at the hospital, moved her to palliative care (sort of like in hospital hospice care), the whole nine... and miraculously, she has pulled through. She is one strong lady!! She is far from out of the woods - she is still very confused, still has a LOT of health problems, and we aren't sure where this road is going to take us. We (and the doctors) are thinking/ hoping/ praying that the confusion is a result of pain and anti-anxiety meds, and are working to get the right mix so that she can be more "with it" and so that we can be more comfortable that she is fully cognizant of what is going on.

So, anyway, with all of that going on, I am still trying to catch up on lost sleep, and get the house back together (I don't think it's been in this state of disarray since Leah was a newborn, and it's driving me nuts - unfortunately I can't seem to motivate myself to do anything but the bare minimum at this point), and just basically get back into a routine. I'm definitely not my usual self right now, lol! Sorry that this post is probably a downer, and is definitely not like my usual fare... hopefully the next one will be back to business as usual.

That's it for now... just wanted to drop in to let you all know I hadn't fallen off the face of the earth.

Thank you all SO much for your incredibly kind comments re: my last post - they are appreciated, and brought a smile to my lips every time a new one popped in. :)

I'll be catching up on commenting soon, I hope! Til next time, happy stitching!

~Robin

Progress & A Trip... Hey Wait... Can I Use the Same Title Twice?

2009-05-28T23:51:00.004-04:00

Hi there! How is everybody?

I'm still getting caught up here at home (& at work) from being gone for 4 days... lots to chat about, but first, progress on Mr. Abbott:

I got a few hours of stitching in each way on the drive... pretty slow going with all the bumps in the road, but I was just happy to not deal with nausea!! Yay!! I haven't stitched at all since we got home, but I should be able to finish getting caught up in the house over the weekend and get back to my regular routine.

Our trip was great! Traffic was pretty heavy getting out of town, but not nearly as bad as in years past. The detours around Detroit really threw me for a loop... I exited in the wrong spot at one point, and executed the fastest three point turn on the planet to get the heck out of where I ended up - believe me... the inner city of Detroit is NOT where you want to be at 1:30 in the morning. At least it got the adrenaline pumping and I had no worries about falling asleep for the rest of the trip!

Terri, you were so sweet to offer to let us take a quick side trip to your place on our way... somehow, I doubt we'd have gotten much visiting done in the middle of the night, though. :) But, I'll take a rain check!

Deb, to answer your question, my mom lives in a teeny tiny little town pretty much 1/2 way between Oxford and Romeo (as the crow flies). On a dirt road.

We had lots of fun at the farm (pics and anecdotes to follow - sorry folks, this is a long one), and went out Sunday afternoon for a trip to the Bordines (reeeaallly nice nursery) in Clarkston. Since Holly is just a couple exits away from there, I asked if we could make a stop in Holly, so we did! Terri and Deb's various "hauls" from Dawn's shop made this a must do item on the itinerary! I got to meet Dawn, who was such a sweetheart, and so kind to chat with my little Leah. It was really nice to meet a blogger "in real life". So, all you ladies that have never been there before, if you ever make it up to Holly, MI - Holly Hills Primitives is a definite must for your visit. Dawn has a lovely shop, and I really enjoyed walking through (amazingly enough, I didn't buy anything... a small miracle, really, one my dh is eternally grateful for) and chatting with Dawn.

Now, on to the farm happenings...

As I said, there are a lot of new babies right now. Here is a cutie p'tootie (I'm never really sure how that is actually supposed to be spelled... that's okay, though, since I don't think it's even a word!) little lamb. He is about a week old, and curious as the day is long:

And, here is mom's baby bull calf, Rocket (so named because he never walks anywhere, just dashes from one spot to the next) - check out those eyelashes!

Now, unlike the little lamb, Rocket is not eyeing me with welcome and curiosity. No no no. Right after I snapped this pic, his head lowered even further. He was standing between me and the rest of the herd (about 50 yds behind him, out of the shot) DARING me to get any closer to them. Very protective already. You could see the wheels turning every time I shifted to get another shot of him. He'd shift with me almost as if to say "Come on. Give me a reason. Just one. I'll knock you down so fast, you won't know what happened." And, considering that he's probably already about twice my size, he could probably have accomplished it, lol! Let me tell you - a bull's head in your chest (that's what they do, knock you (or other predators) down, and pin you with their rather large head) is not a position you want to be in. Even if it is a baby bull!

But wait! There's more! More cuteness, that is...

Here is a pic of Leah with "her" horse Raz. They have an absolutely amazing bond that started when she was a baby, and grows stronger with each visit. Leah can stand on the other side of the pasture from where Raz is, call his name, and danged if that boy doesn't come pretty much instantly to her. Over and over... and over... again. She doesn't even have to offer him treats. Meanwhile Ken & I try the same thing (even holding grass in our hands) and he'll look over, but with no intention of leaving whatever spot he's currently in. It's the cutest thing. Here they are enjoying their mutual admiration society:

Blogger just didn't want to cooperate with the posting order of the pics, so I guess I'll just go with it...

We were out in the hay field playing and Leah and Coli (the collie) were having a grand old time. Well, I wanted to get another pic of Leah and Coli running together (like the one below), so we told Leah to run about 50 yards away and I held on to Coli (he was stuck to Leah like GLUE all weekend - would barely let the poor kid out of his sight long enough to go potty, lol!). Then I made the mistake of telling Coli to "Go get Leah". Yeah. I learned my lesson. So, Coli's a herding dog with absolutely incredible herding instincts (watching him herd the sheep even as a 6 month old puppy last year was quite simply breathtaking). Well, when you tell a herding dog (this one, at least) to "Go get him", if they perceive that the animal (think along the lines of a lost sheep) you're trying to get them to "get" is in danger (and to Coli, Leah was in danger if she was more than 5 feet away from him), the dog will knock into the sheep to get it to a) immediately change course, or b) stun it into stopping. Back to the story. So we tell him to go get Leah. And he does. Sigh... He runs to her side and whips around and gives her a body check in the side, which, of course, knocks her down in the hay, then he stands there looking at my mom and I (who are standing there mouths hanging open frozen in shock) as if to say "I did a good job, didn't I??" He did look pretty abashed (and confused) when she started crying, though. Don't worry, she wasn't hurt, just stunned, and a little scared. In fact, after my mom told her why Coli did that Leah lavished the praise on him. He, of course, lapped it up, and they were best buds again. Here's the pic of my mom explaining what happened (this is still in the stage where Leah was a bit horrified by it all):

About 30 seconds after this shot was taken they were best buds again, running around like they had been when I took this shot:

Well, that's all for me tonight!

Thanks so much for all your comments, and I should be able to get caught up with reading your blogs (and commenting on said posts) in the next couple days.

Til then, happy stitching!!!

~Robin

Progress & A Trip

2009-05-20T22:12:00.003-04:00

Hi there, everyone! I fully intended to post a progress pic last night, but, alas, I had embarassingly little progress to show considering I had the day off and no child at home all day. That's okay. I also got in a couple little naps, a little puttering around in the garden, and just an all around relaxing day. I really needed it! Below is my progress as of the end of my lunch hour today:

I think Mr. Abbott is going much more quickly than his Mrs. did... so far. However, my progress on him is about to come to a grinding halt b/c tonight and tomorrow night I'll be prepping the family for our trip to my mom's.

She lives in MI on a farm and Leah is sooo excited. She's been asking "Is it warm yet?" since Christmas. Then when we realized she wasn't really getting the whole weather thing we started telling her we would go after her birthday. She woke up the morning after her birthday and I swear the first words out of her mouth were "Are we going to grandma's today?" Now she keeps telling us how strong she is so that she can help grandma with chores. To illustrate her point she shows us how big her muscles are - she hefts up her arm, points her elbow at us, pats it and says "This muscle is STRONG!!" Ha!

Hopefully I'll get some stitching time in on the drive there and back - the hubby is coming along this time, so I won't have to drive, yeehaw!! - as long as I don't get car sick. My husband totally jinxed me on that one... ahhh the power of suggestion. I had been able to read in the car my whole life with no problem whatsoever. Until... we were driving down the highway on our honeymoon and I was flipping through a magazine. I had been doing so for about 45 minutes. With no problem. Well, he looks over and says "Doesn't that make you sick?" I said "No, I've never gotten car sick." About 5 minutes later I had a case of nausea that I swear to this day rivalled morning sickness. That was 8 years ago. As of that moment, reading in the car was just something I could not do. I've been strategizing lately, though, and have managed to successfully read magazines in the car as long as I wait to start until we are on a good highway (i.e. not curvy or hilly), so here's hoping... because we are usually way too busy during the day while I'm at my mom's to do anything that entails sitting for more than a few minutes.

I probably won't get a chance to post while we're there, but should have some cute farm (baby animals anyone?) and Leah pics. Mom said she's getting a lamb every other day right now, and there are a few still "to go" so Leah may even be able to see a baby lamb be born. How cool would that be (Yeh, you learn the facts of life at a very early age on a farm)?? I don't think my husband has ever seen an animal born either, so it would be cool for him, too.

Terri, and Deb (I hope your oral surgery went well!!), I'll wave atcha as we pass through your towns (thank goodness we'll be getting through Rochester in the middle of the night - traffic nightmare is the most apt phrase that comes to mind during the day).

Thanks for your comments re: my finish, my progress and my stash... I think John Foster may be higher on the "to stitch" list than he was when I bought him... and is continuing to rise rapidly through the ranks. I keep taking him out and looking at him and saying weird things like "my precious..."... or not. ;)

Well, if I don't get back to blogland before the holiday, I hope you and yours have a marvelous time honoring the men and women that serve(d) our nation!!

TTFN
~Robin

A Finish and a Start

2009-05-18T20:38:00.009-04:00

Yay!!! The Wheels announcement is finito!!! I “finished” it this Saturday evening, but I have to admit to one last minute snafu… When I was stitching his birth date I knew that his birth month was August. Really. I did. Really. Well, the date was a bit off center (sort of like me) and yesterday afternoon I was debating whether or not I should pull it out and restitch it. I’m sitting there thinking to myself “Self, the J needs to move over x number of spaces…” Uhhh…. Wait a minute. August does not CONTAIN a “J”… wtf?? So, I looked at it and yes, for some bizarre reason I had stitched January instead of August. Ummm... Yeah, so I’ve never been accused of being the brightest bulb in the pack, okay?

I started Mr. Abbott last night, and here is where I am:

I’ve already made one error that is just going to have to stay put… you see the few stitches about half way up on the right hand side of his body? Those stitches aren’t supposed to be there. I’ve decided they will be an elbow. Don’t ask… no idea where my head was, lol!! Here's the model photo:

Leah and I made a trip to our previously unvisited LNS – The Stitching Post – on Saturday. It was very very nice. Awesome, HUGE store. I picked up a few patterns (more on that in a few seconds), a bit of fabric, and some wool (I’m going to work out a monogrammed needlepoint pillow for Leah – at some point). We were there for about an hour and a half, and Leah was an absolute angel. Yes, friends, for the first time in my mommyhood, I resorted to bribery (i.e. if you are an angel, I will get you blah bitty blah) and it worked!

I got a couple of really gorgeous sampler patterns:

John Foster:

and Janet Gibson's Scottish Swan Sampler:

Funny thing about this was that when I saw it my first thought was Oh, that is just GORGEOUS! I MUST have it! Then on the way home, I started thinking… you know… I think I’ve seen that somewhere before. Sure enough, when I read Glenna’s most recent post, there was her progress pic. Ah well.

I think someone may be working on John Foster as well, but I’m not sure (my memory is really going down the drain)… I could have just seen it a couple times in my web meanderings

Tomorrow I have scheduled a day off from work for myself – the girl child is going to day care, and I am plopping myself in my stitchy seat with a juicy audiobook (no idea what, yet) and fully intend to finally get the full on numb butt experience.

Thanks very much for your kind comments about my little doll – I read them all to her, and she is now convinced that she is a famous person with her own fan club, lol!! Seriously, she was delighted by your comments, and so was I – so thank you for making both our days!

I will try to post again tomorrow evening to show off my progress on Mr. Abbott… until next time, happy stitching!

~Robin

Sheeee's... Outta There!!!

2009-05-13T20:02:00.004-04:00

Hi y'all!

I just couldn't resist posting these... Let me set the scene... My dh gets home last night, goes upstairs then comes back downstairs and says "Um, did you & Leah go out partying tonight or something?" I say "Why?" He says "Go check it out". So, I do, and this is what I find:

Awww... how cute is that? I was so glad to get this pic without waking her up (it was v. v. dark in the room... not bad for an onboard flash, huh?) - see, Leah is usually a very light sleeper and the slightest noise (except, of course, in the morning when I'm trying to get her up for the day, then she's like trying to wake a bear who's just snuggled in for the winter. Just last week she mumbled "Stop mommy. I need my beauty rest." Ha!) I've had nightmares of trying to accomplish the tooth fairy thing and her popping up and catching me in the act. Phew! But, Ken's comment doesn't really make sense until you see the way she was sleeping:

LOLOL!! Note the sippy cup carelessly drooping next to her shoulder (no booze in it, I swear)She definitely looks as though she passed out in the middle of trying to do something... I'm not really sure what.

Anyway, that's it. Just thought I'd pop on to share the cuteness (I'm not biased or anything, nooo).

Backstitching on Wheels is coming along nicely - not really progress pic worthy, though.

Well, have a great evening, and thanks again for your comments... I've gotten a couple good TV show suggestions that I may need to check out... Currently, I'm just sitting here biting my nails til Lost starts. :)

~ Robin

It's all over but the backstitching, baby!!

2009-05-11T21:39:00.002-04:00

Yeeeeehaaaw!!!! I've got 3 or 4 more evening sessions of backstitching to do then this one is in the bag! Score!! :)

The name looks a little like Owen is drooping on the right hand side, but if you look at the bottom of the stitches they are all on the same row (really... I swear). I think it's because the "n" is shorter than all the other letters. And, it's slightly off center. My bad, but by the time I realized it I had already completely stitched the outline of both names, and there was no way I was frogging it all. Besides... I've convinced myself it isn't really that noticeable. It looks like the names are too far up, but Paul's birth date will be stitched in underneath, so that will balance itself out in the end. There is supposed to be a checkery type of border around the whole thing, but I haven't decided yet if I'm going to do that part. We'll see. I probably will... I'm too much of a rule follower.

So! This chart has definitely knocked me down a time or two, but it has not knocked me out.

Haven't made a final decision yet as to what I will stitch next, but I have decided one thing - it will be small(ish). The next couple things I do probably will be. I'm thinking Diminutive Dutch (Carriage House Samplings) first, then another small one. We'll see. I noticed a real pattern as I looked through my stash the other night. For a woman that doesn't have a whole lot of stitchy time (not unless I stay up waaay past my bed time, that is), I sure tend to pick some seriously big projects. Yeh, just let me live on in my little delusionary world, k?

What else is going on... we finally got some sunshine after a week and a half (I think it really was that long) of non-stop rain. And we aren't talking the "Sunny, except for 45 minutes in the afternoon" sort of rain. No, this lasted pretty much all day every day. I know it actually rains more in May than April here, but sheesh! I never really understood why the suicide rate in Seattle (and other really rainy places) is higher than the national average... now I do! By the end I was really edgy. Really really edgy. My husband hid the knives. OK, no, he really didn't, but he would agree, I'm sure, that it was a dang good thing the sun finally came out! Leah and I tremendously enjoyed the weather this weekend. Playground, flowers, sunshine... aaaah. Doesn't get much better. Of course, now the rain is back, and so is the cold. Ah well. It can't last forever (however, if it goes on this way much longer I've got a little nugget of moolah set aside for some gopher wood - can I interest any of you ladies in joining me?).

Well, I hope all you fellow moms had a wonderful Mother's Day!!

Well, I'm off now... oh... wait... ummmm... I should warn you all now... the next time I post I'm going to be needing some serious moral support from you ladies. You see, it's that time. The time of year when 9 agonizing months yawn before me with a toothy, scary, open maw of terror. I will be desolate. I will be depressed. I will wander around muttering nonsensical terms like "Faraday cage. What happened happened. Live together die alone." I will go find my happy place and curl into the fetal position and gaze blankly into space for disturbingly long periods of time.

**Right now, Robin's dear readers are concerned that an intervention may need to be staged, and are wondering what she can possibly expect them to be able to do about her seriously unstable mental condition**

OK, so it won't be quite that bad, however, I can nearly guarantee it will be about 50%... ok 10% as bad as the picture I painted above. What the H-E-double hockey sticks is she babbling about??

Lost's season finale is on Wednesday. It won't be back until February 2010. The Season 5 DVDs don't come out until December 8th. And, unfortunately for me, Lost doesn't have your typical season ending cliff hangers. Noooo. "Did they get married? Did she/he/it die?" Those sorts of cliffhangers aren't nearly cliff hangery enough for Lost's writers. No. Typically it goes something like this: The final Lost gong sounds. I stare blankly into space. For like an hour. Then I cry out something along the lines of "How the freak will there even be a show after that????" Aaaaaarrrgggh!!! I'd like to take a baseball bat to whomever came up with this scheme. Really. I mean. Ugh.

Yes, I realize this sounds totally pathetic (get a freakin' LIFE Robin, come on!!), but you must understand. Lost is the ONLY TV show I watch. At all. OK, so I watched something on HGTV last night while I folded a load of laundry. Does that really count?? I don't think so.

Anyway, bottom line... umm... I have no idea where I was going with that whole rant, lol! See? It's starting already.

Anyway, let me get off here before I get swallowed up into the pit of despair (a non-prize for anyone that can name the movie reference). If you've read this far, thanks!! You're a trooper! If you're not reading... well, for those folks I really don't need to type anything, now do I? :)

Thanks for reading, thanks SO MUCH for your comments, and until next time - happy stitching!!!

~Robin

Greetings!

2009-05-04T21:49:00.003-04:00

Hi! Long time no chat, eh? (progress pic toward the bottom of this post) Let's see... what have I been up to in the nearly 3 weeks since I last posted... Not much out of the ordinary, really. Spring did finally arrive in my neck of the woods (although, with the amount of rain we've gotten the past few days and will get through the end of the week, I think I may need to start building an ark), so we spent lots of evenings and weekend days outside planting, walking, and just playing.

We've been getting little Roscoe acclimated to his new home, and things are going very well in that quarter. He has wholeheartedly taken to being around us (although he's not the most snuggly kitty, I can see that he wants to be and just isn't quite "there" yet), and desperately wants to be friends with and play with our older kitty, Midnight. Midnight is having none of it. Once in a while you can see a spark of interest (and not the killing kind) while he watches Roscoe play, but usually he curls himself up into a tight little ball and just stays well away from the little furball.

Our friend, Judi has a theory that it is because Roscoe has Giardia (well, he was on meds for 10 days, so he should be over that now) - when she introduced one of her cats to the household it was shunned by the others until the Giardia was cleared up. Makes sense to me... animals can certainly sense when there's something not right.

Let's see what else... my little Leah turned 4 today. It seems like yesterday that I was on a hospital bed writhing in pain for 24 hours straight (yes, I wanted to be SheRa and tried to forgo the meds. I made it 17 hours, then gave in - the nurses were like freakin' pushers, I swear! - I slept for 45 minutes then it wore off on one side of my body... while I was in transition. Then when that side was fixed I had about 5 minutes of relief until it abruptly quit working on the other side of my body... and so it went for the next 6 hours til I finally had the c-section). Anyway! Leah is 4... going on 16. :) She's sweet and defiant, teachable and headstrong, loving and bossy, polite and truculent, an unbelievably picky eater (unless you put sushi in front of her - then she goes Hoover), a budding fashionista (don't even get me started on trying to buy her new shoes... good Lord, I thought I had at least 5 or 6 years til those battles would start), a princess loving cutie pie who steals our hearts anew every day. She continually amazes me with how smart she is, and with some of the amazing things she points out to me with the questions she asks (scene: We're at a local nursery. Leah asks me "Mommy, why are there so many different plants?" I reply "Because God is very creative and wanted to give us lots of different things to look at" Leah replies "Wow! God is amaaazing! He's an artist!"), she consistently gives us sweet pictures of the unique wonder at the miracle of the world that is (to our detriment) the exclusive domain of children.

I was reading around the blogosphere and came across this post, and couldn't help the bittersweet pang I got when I thought of my own sweet girl reaching the milestone of prom, and high school graduation, and beginning to test her wings out in the wide wide world. Then I read Doris' post about her own sweet Rebekah and my heart broke into a thousand little pieces for her. Posts like both of those help me treasure my daughter even more than I already do - even when she's doing her level best to push me over the edge. :)

So, in honor of her birthday, I'm taking the opportunity to shamelessly brag on my kid. These are a few pictures I took while we were outside one evening last week.

OK! So, not a whole lot of actual progress has been made on Wheels - this is where I stopped last night (and as it is taking me forever to get of the 'puter it would appear this evening will end with little or no stitchy time):

Pathetic, really - I haven't even completed 4 vehicles in the past nearly 3 weeks. However, I am getting a second (ok, let's be honest - first) wind on this piece. I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel. It feels like I have gotten a lot more done than I have, and it feels like there isn't nearly as much left to do as there actually is. So, I'm hoping for a finish within the next two weeks on this.

Then what will I do...??? Hmmm.... I have numerous charts shrieking my name... There's Mr. Abbott (companion to Mrs. Abbott), then there's Garden Cat by Birds of a Feather... or maybe one of their Seasons girls... or maybe one of my Carriage House charts... so many charts so little time! :)

Additionally, I just got a crap load of fat quarters and jelly rolls (and some patterns - of course) from The Fat Quarter Shop.com. Oh my - those fabrics are positively luscious and are also screaming my name... hmmm... multi tasking may be in my crafty future. :) Whatever I choose, I've decided I'm going to be selfish with my stitchy time for a while. This is my hobby, not my job - it's supposed to relax me, not stress me out, right?

Oh, by the way, it won't take me nearly so long to post again... hubby is going to find himself kerplunked right out of the computer chair if he keeps hogging the 'net the way he has been. ;)... Did I just say that out loud?

Anyway, thanks so much for your kind comments! I really appreciate and am so encouraged by them! Until next time, happy stitching!!

~Robin

Introducing Roscoe Balthazar Wright

2009-04-15T22:40:00.003-04:00

Hi there everyone! Long time no blog, eh? Well, I have a super cute excuse - our new baby boy Roscoe. Here he is - looking all cute and regal...Leah & I had been begging for a kitten for a while (we were a two kitty family until my sweet Socrates passed away from CRF about two yrs ago at the age of 18... I got him as a wee babe and he gave me a lot of good years) and my anniversary gift was the agreement that I could go on the prowl. So, to Petfinder I went - and found this sweet boy at our local animal control center. Leah and I went Wednesday evening to meet him, then Ken went Thursday and turned in the application. We brought him home on Saturday morning and have been busy falling in love with and getting to know each other.

He is about 7 months old, and cute as can be. Still very playful and entertaining. We've sat playing with him for well over an hour w/o even realizing it. Our older cat, Midnight (yes, also black) isn't too sure if he wants to play with or get rid of the little pest*, but gets less and less pissy with Roscoe by the minute. I'm pretty sure they'll be chasing each other around and snuggling up together in no time.

So, anyway, preparing for the new boy kept me busy last week (I mean, we couldn't possibly bring a new baby home without buying a plethora of toys, kitty beds, new food, a super cute collar, brushes for that gorgeous coat, etc. etc.) and bonding with him has kept me happily busy this week.

I haven't put a single stitch into Wheels since my last post... partially b/c I've been busy loving up on our new boy, and partially b/c it is a serious mojo stealer.

So, although I could regale you with tales of some gorgeous things I've seen (my step mom was showing me some bee-autiful silk ribbon embroidery, and some sigh worthy things in a mag called Inspirations (ever seen it? It's ridiculously expensive - from Australia, I believe - and has seriously drool worthy embroidery - and an adorable thimble holder cross stitch pattern my SM copied for me - I think I might have to finagle my way into a subscription), and a super cool little gadget called a "Spinster" (which is used to really easily make perfect twisted decorative cording - for ornaments, pillows, etc. - out of simple DMC floss, and which I, of course, had to have immediately - thus a little hop to nordicneedle.com to buy it), I will restrain myself... uhh... wait... I didn't, did I? I just rambled on and on and on... with way too many parentheses and hyphens... sorry about that. :)

That's it for now. Hopefully next time I post I'll have a progress pic and maybe even a new start. Thanks so much for your comments and your birthday wishes! I so love hearing from my blogging cohorts. Happy stitching, and enjoy the rest of your week! ~Robin

*A special note for all you kitty owners out there - Don't worry. We are being very careful in introducing the boys - Roscoe stays in "his room" when we aren't home, and if he seems to be getting on Midnight's last nerve, we put him in there as well.

Remember Me?

2009-04-08T22:44:00.003-04:00

Hi there! So, it's been a busy week... My birthday was Friday - got a lovely Vera Bradley bag that I will use to cart smaller projects around, a gift card to Sephora (which was promptly spent, thank you very much... if I ever got around to making a "Robin's Top 5 Favorite Stores" list that store would def. be #2), and my dh surprised me with dinner at the Melting Pot with a couple we are close friends with - Yummy!!! Saturday was a v. lazy day, then we met my dad, stepmom, brother & his gf for dinner. It was very nice. Sunday we went to see my MIL - she is doing SO much better!! Then Monday it was back to work and prepping for my anniversary (#8 - Wow the time goes by so fast, doesn't it??) which was Tuesday. I got the dh a really good fondue pot (an electric one w/ adjustable temperature and a ceramic insert so as not to scorch cheese and chocolate fondues). It was promptly put to good use - we made a cheese fondue for the appetizer, and a deelish broth which we used to cook some fab filet mignon.

The last time I stitched on Wheels was Monday evening. Here's where I am with it:

It seems to be going a bit more quickly this time (I suspect that is because I have abandoned the "backstitch as I go" plan)... but not as quickly as I'd like. :) Unfortunately, lunches in the past week have been spent running errands, so I haven't had a chance to start Mr. Abbott as yet. Hopefully next week - b/c I still have a couple days' worth of lunch time errands to run and only one free lunch hour to do it in... hmmm.

Now, I'm no tease, but I will say that in the next few days I will have an exciting announcement to make (well, exciting for my household, anyway). :)

OK... I'm going totally OT here... I just can't help myself - WARNING: If you are a viewer of the best show on TV (LOST - of course) and have not watched tonight's ep yet (entitled "Dead Is Dead") - Stop. Reading. Now. Come back after this para is over. O.M.G. I don't think I breathed for about 10 minutes after this ep was over. I may have actually passed out. I think this may go down as the best LOST ep ever... at the very least, the best ep since S1. Ben. Desmond. Smokey. Locke. Alex. Holy... I... He... It... I'm sorry... It seems I am still unable to put two coherent thoughts together in regards to tonight's ep. I just... wow. If you've never watched the show... start. Don't try to jump in this season... Netflix, beg, borrow or steal the DVDs in order, then join us for the final season next January. Trust me. It's amazing. This show is simply amazing - it's the smartest thing I've ever ever watched on TV (yeh, documentaries don't count, okay?)... the literary references, references to theories of physics, philosophy, religion. Phew. It's the sort of show you can watch "on the surface" and thoroughly enjoy, or you can be a total freak like me and visit DarkUFO to read recaps and theories from folks waaay smarter than I am. OK. I'm done. Sorry 'bout that, folks! Back to our regularly scheduled program.

Actually... I think that's about it for tonight. :) Thank you so much, ladies, for your lovely comments re: Mrs. Abbott!! It was like unwrapping my fave candy (Almond Roca, BTW) each time a new one popped up. Until next time... Happy stitching!! ~Robin

Mrs. Abbott is finished!!

2009-03-31T21:23:00.003-04:00

Here she is! Yippee (picture me doing the afflicted Elaine [Seinfeld] dance)!!!! This is only my second finish of 2009 so even if I weren't as thrilled with the pattern as I am I'd still be excited. I finished her last night, and after taking the pic for this post, I actually put a few stitches into Wheels. I think what I am going to do while I work on Wheels is take Mr. Abbott to work with me and work on him during my lunch hour (on the days I stay in for lunch, that is), then work on Wheels in the evenings after the Munchkin goes to bed... that's the plan anyway.

Well, I hope you've all had a lovely start to the week and that you get lots of stitchy time in!

Til next time, Robin

Stash & Some Progress

2009-03-29T11:44:00.002-04:00

Hello! How's everyone doing?

Since I seem to be a one project at a time kind of girl (I just can't seem to bring myself to do a daily or semi-daily rotation), I thought I'd mix it up a bit and show some of the stash I've acquired in the last few months... hopefully I'll have some fabric & fiber to show soon - my birthday is coming up so I'm hoping the hubby will let me go to the LNS (sans ma fille) I've been dying to visit but have been unable to get to.

At any rate, here it is... I've noticed something... although these were not all purchased at one time, I seem to have a marked preference for CHS. In fact, I really really love her designs. I'm not gonna go Kathy Bates on her or anything, but, well... you get what I'm saying! :) The images should be clickable... the one in the upper right hand corner of the 1st image is Flora and Fauna by Willow Hill Samplings. I also got Dorothy's Garden as a result of drooling all over Glenna's progress pics of that pattern.

Here's my progress with Mrs. Abbott.

I'm still loving this pattern, and cannot wait to get started on Mr. Abbott. I should be able to finish this in the next few days, I think, then it will be back to Wheels for Amy. Hopefully that will a go a bit more quickly than it seemed to when I worked on it last month.

Not much new going on... my MIL is doing much better. She has been moved to a "regular" room at the hospital. The doctor said we should anticipate her being there for another month, then we'll have to see how complete her recovery is before we make plans for any next steps.

Leah and I have been sick this week, but other than a lingering cough, we are both feeling much better.

Thanks for all of your comments and advice on my last post (Tanya, I haven't forgotten you - I just haven't sat down to type out an email - stay tuned!)!! :) I really am so glad to have joined this little community. It's great to have a place to chat about my little obsession with like minded individuals.

Until next time, happy stitching!! ~Robin

Mrs. Abbott, advice please, and etc.

2009-03-23T22:14:00.005-04:00

My my time does fly by doesn't it?

Here is my progress with Mrs. Abbott since my last post:
I think she's coming along nicely... I am really enjoying this pattern. It isn't particularly difficult (not many color changes) and it is so small that every small amount of progress feels like a leap forward in terms of "percent complete". I can't wait to have them both done and framed gracing the walls of our bedroom... they won't take up much wall space but will really complement what we already have in there.

After Mrs. Abbott is complete I'll resume (and hopefully finish very shortly) the Wheels Announcement for Amy. I'm starting to feel guilty for neglecting it for so long! Then it will be on to Mr. Abbott, and some other projects as well... I've done a bit of stash enhancement recently and will share pics in my next post or so.

Now for the advice part - Any hints on making a "neater stitch" (is there anyone that rewinds and repeatedly plays the scene in the Gwyneth Paltrow Emma where she & Harriet are outside stitching and Emma tells Harriet "if you pull this way dear, you'll find it makes a neater stitch."... no? um, ok... I don't either... I've just heard some people do) when stitching with one strand of thread? I've been railroading when stitching with two strands for a while now and find my stitches to be pretty much uniform (I think) when using that method, but am having a harder time with just one strand (which is what I'm using w/ Mrs. Abbott). Tips? Thoughts? Thanks in advance!!

You've probably noticed that I've added a playlist since my last post (shamelessly copying Terri & Vonna here). My question to you - should it stay or should it go?

My MIL is doing a LOT better. She is still in the hospital, but they are talking about moving her to a "Regular" room this weekend. We are still cautious, but are definitely breathing a bit more easily, and are far more optimistic than we were a week ago.

Well, that's it for now. Thanks so much for your comments! It's like a special treat when I see a new one has popped up. I really appreciate the time you take out of your busy days to read my posts and comment.

Happy Stitching! ~Robin

Mrs. Abbott, I need what???, and the Hospital

2009-03-18T22:20:00.005-04:00

So... long time no post, eh? Things have been busy here... I'll write a bit more about my MIL and her condition at the bottom of this post, but I do want to thank Tanya, Jacque, and Terri for your kind comments and encouragement!

Below is my progress on Mrs. Abbott. Stitching time has been scarce lately, but here's where I am.

I haven't worked on the Little Wheels Announcement at all since my last post. I'll pick it up again soon, but for the moment this will be my focus. Lots of stress = Robin works on what she loves. :)

I do need to give a special shout out to Tanya... for simultaneously helping and horrifying me. Hehe... Let me splain. I have been doing the "half arm extension" maneuver without even noticing for a while now (especially when my lil punkin shoves something in my face and says "Mommy, look at this!!"), however, I have been living in a state of denial for at least the past 6 months. Denial of what you ask? Denial that a person of my tender years (I haven't even hit the mid thirties, people!) could possibly need... reading glasses. Tanya helped me step out of my state of denial, however, when she suggested in a comment that using readers might make it easier to see my 40 ct. project. I happened to mention this to my step mom while I was at my dad's last weekend, and she disappeared then returned a few minutes later with the most obnoxious pair of readers you've ever seen (she got them as a gag gift for her 40th b'day). I put them on, and... Oh dear LORD... I could see!!! Nooooooo!!!!! LOL! Thank you, Tanya! I will probably work on 40ct. again in the future thanks to you. That's a good thing. Not loving so much, though, the admission I've had to make as a result that my truly horrible eyesight has taken yet another step toward true blindness. I am comforting myself with the fact that, currently, I only "need" them for stitching.

My MIL is still in the hospital... She's been there 3 weeks today. Communication with the medical team has improved - I think my husband and his sister have gotten better about proactively asking questions of nurses, doctors, and the various specialists. Things are still very uncertain... she has had some bad days, and a couple pretty good days, and a truly horrible day yesterday. Today was a much better day. They've run just about every test they can think to run and everything comes back "normal", so we're pretty much in a holding pattern right now, taking it day by day. That's the way it's supposed to be though, I suppose. The Bible does warn us against borrowing trouble from tomorrow...

Again thanks for your kind words, ladies. Those, and reading your posts (but not commenting much, sorry!!) have been a comfort to me these past few weeks.

Until next time - take care and happy stitching! ~Robin

A Baby Stitcher (Literally), Progress, A New Start & The Hospital

2009-03-08T20:46:00.008-04:00

So... It's been a while, huh? I'll get to the reason at the end of this post. For now, the fun stuff. Leah has been determined to stitch so I finally grabbed some extra DMC, and some Aida I inherited that I know I'll never use and let her go to town. Here are the results. She got tired of it after about 5 minutes, but it was adorable to watch her fierce concentration. :)

Here is the progress on the Wheels Announcement... I've decided to take a little (a week?) break from this. I've been working on it faithfully as much as I can, and can't wait to bless my friend with it... but I am facing burnout with it. This pattern is totally not my style, and I never would have chosen it to stitch (It's a good thing Amy chose it b/c if I had chosen for her I would have been waaaay off base in my pattern selection) so it has really been feeling more like work than anything.

A friend of mine took Leah to a birthday party featuring ponies (my child is horse obsessed and has been since she was teeny) on Saturday, so I got a couple hours of free time. I decided to reward my hard work on Wheels with a pattern I've been dying to start for a while now:

The kit shows these finished as pin cushions, but I'm going to get them framed instead... they'll go really well in the master bedroom. So I got a few hours in yesterday and about an hour in today, and here's where I am with it:

One thing... these are done on 40 ct... Holey Moley!!! Tanya, you're my hero!!! I think I might actually go blind by the time I am done with these! :) I can't imagine working 40 ct. exclusively... my eyes are horrible w/o my contacts, but are corrected to 20/20 when they're in. My eyes actually crossed trying to adjust to seeing the tiny holes, lol!

I am going to work on this first one (the ladies) this week, and on Saturday when I get to crash my dad's place for a full day of mommy/ stitching time. After that I'll start a regular rotation of 2 sessions on Wheels, followed by 1 session on Mrs. Abbott.

So... where've I been... well, my mother in law ended up in the hospital the day after my last post with a perforated ulcer. It was definitely touch and go for a while. They actually had to go in and do "do-over" surgery last Monday. My husband has been at the hospital as much as possible throughout, we've had family coming in and out of town to see mom, and I've been trying to see her as much as I can while also attempting to maintain a relatively normal existence for Leah. We are all cautiously hopeful at this point that mom will eventually recover, but we certainly don't expect her to be back to pre-incident levels at any time in the near future.

On a hospital tangent... I have to say, for a highly rated hospital, I have not been particularly impressed by Fairfax Inova. Leah had a procedure done there last fall and everyone was great, but this experience... communication has been horrible, and while the Dr's have been very nice... I don't know, blah blah blah. I just expected a bit more communication, and a bit more of the doctors in terms of some tests she appears to need, tests that still haven't been read (sonogram on the heart a week ago, and still no results?? Hello???!!)... We'll see.

Well, thanks for stopping by! I hope you've had a great weekend!!

Progress & Free Retail Therapy

2009-02-24T22:40:00.013-05:00

First, progress pics... not as much as I'd like, but it's coming along. Thank goodness! :) I'm trying to finish this as quickly as I can (it would, of course, help if I could count!!) for two reasons: 1) Amy has been waiting way too long already, and 2) Then I can stitch a project I've been dying to start for ages - which, of course, will give me an excuse to make my first visit to the LNS Glenna helped me discover in Baltimore... I thank you greatly, Glenna... I suspect my wallet won't, though. ;) So, here's where I am with the Wheels Announcement:

On to the retail therapy portion of this post... How does one go about getting free retail therapy anyway?? Why by signing up for Visa Extras on one's check card, then forgetting about it (for several years) until one receives a politely worded letter from Visa Extras informing one that one has accumulated a ridiculous number of points and, well, one really ought to use them sometime before the return of Jesus...

Ahem. Yep. Early last week I got a reminder letter from them, so I dug around and found all my log in info, then went to their online catalog to choose my "gifts". Can you say "SCORE"!!!?? I cashed in for a $125 Amazon.com gift card, and a $15 Sephora gift card. Here's the loot I ordered:

I fell in LOVE with this perfume a few months ago, but couldn't bring myself to spend the $90 for 1.6oz (Yes, you read correctly - $90). I am borderline obsessed with perfume - especially non-sweet, non-flowery scents. I've been on an unceasing quest for about the last 10 yrs to find a fragrance that doesn't turn to powder, dough, or some other unappealing scent when in contact with the bizarre chemical make up that is my skin... I think this might be it. So, anyway, I found it waaay cheaper on Amazon, and into the cart it went.

This looked like a nice book to use for making pillows... plus it was really cheap. :)

This is the mac daddy of the motherload, though. I saw this on Joanns.com a while ago, but didn't buy it due to the price tag. A frame isn't an absolute MUST after all... but, lo and behold Joanns sells thru Amazon, so I was able to use the free moolah to make the purchase. Supposedly, this will hold my Q-Snaps nice and tight. We'll see. I'm all for anything that will help the stitching be more comfy and faster...

I hoofed it to the local Sephora at lunch today and bought a lip gloss (yes, another addiction) I've been eyeing... and maybe a few other things. ;) That store is seriously dangerous!! They really ought to post warnings at the entrance...

Well, I hope you've all had a great beginning to your week...

P.S. I have an (used, but gently) Art Bin hoop carrying case. I bought it at Joanns, but can't find a pic any more. Anyway, it was designed to carry round hoops and other stitching accoutrements. There are two zippered sections, and an outside zipper pocket. Since I don't use round hoops any more, it is sitting lonely in my craft room feeling horribly unloved. If you are interested, please let me know. It will go free to a good home.

A Plethora of Stitchy Treats from Jacque & A Progress Pic

2009-02-21T00:24:00.006-05:00

Hi all! Well, I know I promised to post a progress pic a couple days ago, but hopefully viewing the below stitchy gift I received from Jacque will make the wait worthwhile...

I arrived home @11pm this evening, braved the horrid wind to go check our mailbox right away... I couldn't wait to get the package from Jacque and I had a hunch it would be there. It was!!! What a wonderful gift! This is far more than I expected or deserve (I almost feel guilty for being the recipient... considering I'm such a newbie blogger)! Make sure you enlarge the image so you can get the full effect of everything in there. It took me a while to get it all set up to take a pic of it all in one shot.

So, many many thanks to you, Jacque!!

And, here is my progress (or lack thereof) pic of the Wheels project I'm working on for my friend Amy's little boy, Paul.

You can see the "imprint" of the little tractor I had to frog... hopefully it won't show up so much when this is mounted and framed. I've decided to backstitch as I go on this one. I think it would be sooo discouraging to be "done" with this, but have to go back and back stitch it.

Nothing else new... I did manage to get an unexpected hour of mommy time this evening. We had a small group (church) meeting at 7 tonight, but Ken wasn't feeling well so he decided to stay home with Leah. I took myself off to Barnes & Noble right after work, and settled in with some yummy food and a few magazines. I was going to look at Stitch mags, but they were all way out of reach - literally - I'm severely vertically challenged, lol!! So, I settled for some gorgeous home mags. Ahhh. The bliss of being able to look through even one magazine without being interrupted. ;) I found a few antiques websites to look thru in the mags. Maybe I'll find something... well, that isn't really in question. Whether I'll be able to afford whatever I find is the real issue here

OK, it's late and I'm babbling. Night night!

A Busy Week, A Plague of Frogs, and a Stitcher’s Bad Dream…

2009-02-17T20:53:00.002-05:00

Wow, has it been a busy week… I have to admit that I hadn’t picked up my needle at all until last night – and now I almost wish I hadn’t, but more on that in a minute. After I finished my Border Study, my week went sort of nutso. Last Sunday and Monday evening (after the girl child went to bed) were spent making a pre-decorated baby scrapbook for a friend of mine. Tuesday evening was spent throwing that friend a small baby shower. Wednesday evening was LOST watching night (oh, LOST… how do I love thee), Thursday night I crashed and burned after reading for about ½ hr (a friend loaned me Lady Killer by Lisa Scottoline… pretty good). I was SO tired. Friday night Ken & I went out for our Valentine’s Day dinner since our sitter was not available on Saturday. Saturday we ran errands, went on a fruitless search for shoes for the Munchkin, then had dinner with my dad & step mom. Sunday we did laundry, housework, etc., some friends came over for a couple hours, and then after Leah went to bed Ken & I watched the movie Fireproof. I had been warned to lower my expectations of the acting, and so I did. Some of the lines were really cheesy (I’m never satisfied with the way the gospel is presented in movies like this), and some of the acting was not real great… that said however, I did think it was, overall, a good film. It was a really good message about marriage, and I did like it.

Now on to the plague of frogs… So, last night I (finally) picked up the Wheels project I need to stitch for my friend Amy. Yeh. Why did I do that? Rather, why did I not look at the whole pattern before I picked up my needle and chose the place to start? The design is a border of different vehicles surrounding the child's name in big letters in the center. Well, I started at the top center of the border with a tractor. After I got the whole stinkin’ tractor stitched (over 2 hrs of stitching – I’m slow) I glanced at the next vehicle in the line up. A moving van type thing. Waaay taller than the tractor. I realized that that would only give me @1 inch of leeway between the top of the final stitched piece and the top of the fabric. Argh!!!! If it were linen, this wouldn’t be quite so disastrous, but I bought the fabric for this a while back when I still wasn’t sold on linen (still not terribly confident in my ability to count wide gaps between stitches on linen… counting is a bit easier on Aida) and I am stitching this piece on 18ct. Aida. Aida (maybe just mine) unravels faster than a ball of yarn being pulled apart by a seriously ticked off cat. So, by the time I’m done with the thing – if I don’t re-stitch – I could actually end up with the fabric unraveled to within like a millimeter of where the stitching starts. Argh!!!!! I was seriously ticked. So, tonight I get to listen to the symphony of my own personal frog orchestra as I frog and restitch. Ugh. I’ll post a progress pic tomorrow or the next day. When I can actually feel good about what I’ve accomplished on this piece.

Moving along to the “bad dream”…. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a dream. I was at my friend Miranda’s* house Tuesday evening. Now, before I go any further let me state for the record that I absolutely loooove her house. I love the floor plan, I love her décor… everything. There is tons of stuff to look at but it is not that horrible cluttered chotchke type thing. So anyway, I was using her bathroom, and was looking at a picture on the wall that I had admired on several previous visits. It's a pencil drawing sort of stuck to the frame… not behind glass, just sort of stuffed in there. As I was leaving the bathroom I looked back and noticed that one corner of it was curling away, so I went to push the paper back into place. As I did so, I saw a glimpse of what was behind it… hey wait a sec… that looks like… could it be… no way… with a furtive glance to ensure that I was unobserved I pulled the corner of the paper a bit further to reveal…

Oh. No. She. Didn’t. What I had glimpsed moments before was, in fact, a high count Aida fabric. What I revealed by pulling the paper back a bit more was some beautiful stitching. I almost passed out. When I could get my mouth shut I hollered “Miranda!!!!” I went and got her and pulled her into the bathroom half laughing, half seriously horrified. I asked her what was behind the paper. She said it was a wedding sampler. I said “If this is what you do to stitching you can bet your sweet bupkis I won’t be stitching anything for you!” She said “Well, she didn’t even give it to us for a year after we were married!” I said “It might have taken her that long to stitch it!!” She said “Well, it doesn’t go with our decorating style (she’s right – it doesn’t)!” I said “You could hang it in a closet for crying out loud!” She said “Well, we never see this cousin, so she’ll never know… and besides I like the frame. I couldn’t figure out how to get the fabric out of there without ruining the frame, so I figured I’d just cover it up for now.” I almost ran screaming from the house, lol!!! I was stunned, flabbergasted, and veklempt.

Due to this horrific and disturbing (and eye opening) experience of others’ treatment of a person’s labor of love I have decided – I will NEVER make another project for anyone but immediate family again unless they ask me to… several times. That way I will know they want whatever they’re requesting badly enough to warrant all the work I’ll do to get it done – and that they will subsequently hang it – and not attempt to hide or destroy it. I may even come up with a contract. They’ll have to sign in blood. :)

So anyway, progress pic tomorrow. Have a great evening!

*Names have been changed to protect the guilty.

A finish! A finish!

2009-02-08T23:03:00.008-05:00

Here she is! I am quite pleased with the result. :) There are definitely errors (a result of me not paying attention to the pattern) - but they weren't glaring enough for me to want to frog, so they shall remain.

This took me a little over a month to complete... not too bad. I definitely didn't work on it every day.

So, now... on to new projects! Below are two pics of a WIP that I have decided to pull out of mothballs and re-activate (more on my current WIP strategy below). It is Gentle Strength (Persis Clayton Weirs). I haven't touched this puppy in about a year... It is a B.A.P., and I seriously burned out on it the last time I worked on it. I am making it for my mom (she raises Arabians) and this is the best "horsey/ Arabey" craft pattern I've ever come across.

I think what I love about it the most is not necessarily the head (it is a bit off for an Arab) but the gentle expression in the eyes... it is so expressive of the heart of these horses. They are without doubt amazingly intelligent, highly spirited, and strong animals... (Arabs have a really undeserved reputation for being "high strung" - of course there are total fruit loops in any breed, be they horse, dog, or even human) but the best thing about them is their heart. To see an Arab with a tiny tot is to see love and guardianship in a pure and beautiful form. I learned to ride on Arabs myself, and just last year my baby Leah (she was 2.5 yo at the time and it was not her first time on a horse) rode our 5 y.o. Arab stallion C.P., who is very much still a little boy in every day life (raging hormones, ya know). The moment we put Leah on his back you would have thought he was about 30 years old, and carrying the most precious cargo on the planet. It was one of the sweetest things I've seen in a long time. OK, so the horsey tangent is over. :) Here are the WIP pics:

I have a ton left to do. What you see here is only the top half of the pattern. Still lots of stitching (mostly 1/2 stitches) to do on the head and body, and black background stitches all around the head, neck, and body... not to mention the entire bottom half of the pattern. Yikes! :)

To help eliminate pattern burnout with the BAP, I've come up with a WIP strategerie. I will keep one BAP in progress (I have several Scarlet Quince patterns I can't wait to start - they are all even bigger BAPs than Gentle Strength), and alternate working on it with smaller projects.

Starting Wednesday (working on a gift scrapbook for a friend tonight and tomorrow night, then have a meeting on Tuesday night) I'll be working on the sampler I mentioned in a previous post (Little Wheels Birth Announcement - Linda Bird), along with Gentle Strength

Not much else new and exciting going on at Chez Robin... the weather here was absolutely beautiful this weekend! On Saturday Leah & I went to a local (huge) playground that we've never been to before and had a grand old time... we were there for well over an hour before I even checked my watch; today we ran errands then went to visit my co-worker Arin (ha! now there's a laugh! Try explaing to a 3.5 yo the difference between "errands" and "Arin's" - say it out loud, you'll see what I mean) who had surgery last week. Leah made her a very colorful picture to take as a get well gift, and I brought her some trashy novels to alleviate the boredom of her recovery. We all miss her at work, so anything I can do to help her heal is really motivated out of selfishness, lol!

Off to beddy bye for me... I hope you've all had a grand weekend!

I'm here... really, I am!!

2009-02-07T10:55:00.002-05:00

No pics in this post, just a quick note to confirm that yes - I am still alive. :) I did end up pretty sick after my snowy adventure w/ Leah. Sick enough that I stayed home sick from work for two days... I really hate it when that happens. It seems like such a waste of perfectly good PTO. Ah well.

I slept most of those two days, and went to bed super early in the evenings as well. So, I didn't get a whole lot done on the Border Study. However, I made enough progress this week that I think I can finish it this evening. Yeehaw!! I will post again tonight with the finish.. or at least an "almost done" pic.

TTFN! ~Robin

Is it possible to have too much fun??

2009-01-27T22:05:00.002-05:00

We finally got some measurable snow here and when we got home this evening I decided that - even though I'm just about as sick as a dog - I couldn't possibly pass up the opportunity to take Leah sledding - her first time!!... At the rate we're going this winter, it could be another year before we get this much snow again. Sheesh! My theory is: If it's gonna be cold, we should at least get some snow as a (admittedly small) consolation so that a) we have something pretty to look at, and b) so my poor plants can have an extra blankie from the cold.

Anyway, I raced around the house grabbing gloves, hats, boots, snowsuits, etc. then spent 40 minutes (yes, really) blowing up our big honkin' sled. When we were just about ready Leah grabbed my face and said "Mommy, why are you so excited???" LOLOL!!!

We had a blast - my little munchkin is a daredevil just like her momma. Yes!! Hopefully this means I'll finally get a roller coaster riding partner in a few years! We went down a rather large, rather steep hill first, and she LOVED it! Let me tell you... we were smokin' on the way down. The only thing she didn't like was toward the bottom when the snow started spraying up into our eyes. That she didn't love so much. Later she convinced me to let her go down what she said was "just a little teeny tiny baby hill" all by herself. The 2nd, 3rd (& 4th) time she went down, she went head first. That's my girl!!! :)

We also had a snow fight and made a snow angel family (really, it was a tribe... I think there were like 6 mommies & daddies and about 12 kids!) on our way back to the house.

So, even though my health will certainly pay the price I am so glad I seized this opportunity and made this memory with my little girl... she probably will forget it in a few days, but I will cherish the memory of her cherry red cheeks, grinning face, sparkling-with-mischief eyes, and happy glow for a long long time to come.

Bathroom, Stitching, Etc. Updates

2009-01-26T18:47:00.007-05:00

Stitching update... I have been progressing along slowly on Border Study in Non Red... This is my progress up to approx. 9pm last night:

I should be able to get this done in the next couple weeks, then I will work on the sampler for my dear friend Amy who adopted a little boy from Korea. She & her husband brought him home in September, so this is long overdue! I have a couple others that I am eager to get started on, but will force myself to wait until the sampler is done for her.

Our master bathroom... this is progress, right? We've gone from vanilla to chocolate. :) I absolutely love it. When I unveiled this to my husband he gave me the nicest compliment. He said: "I feel like I'm on TV!!" He was very unsure about my color choice, but really loves it. We will be adding a new light fixture over the tub, new vanity lights, and getting some more artwork up on the walls, but I just couldn't wait til then to post these pics. When it's 100% done, I will post more pics.

Not much else going on... the Lost premiere was as awesome as I could have hoped for, and I am really looking forward to seeing how this season shapes up.

I started planning for our trip to the happiest place on earth over the weekend, and our house is booked! We're going in September with a couple we are close friends with. We spent a week in Myrtle Beach together last year and had a fabulous time... you know you love each other if you can spend a week in the same house and return from the trip still as close as ever. :) Now I just have to pray that the Lord will bless us with coveted seating at the Cinderella breakfast in Cinderella's castle! Leah will probably pass out from the thrill... I can hardly wait to see her reaction to meeting a "real live princess"!

Trying to fight off a cold and praying it doesn't turn into a sinus infection like they always do... please... I really don't want to have to take any time off work.

Anyway, I'll post again soon! TTFN!

In Other News...

2009-01-21T12:50:00.002-05:00

First, our flood. We got the water turned off, and the carpet and padding peeled back. It appeared that the padding soaked up most of the water, so we called that a loss, ripped it up, and tossed it out the back door. We turned on our tiny little fan, and a couple space heaters to start to try to dry out the drywall (which was totally soaked) and carpet. Sunday morning the hubby went and rented one of those industrial blower-carpet-dryer-outer things. We stuck it under the carpet, and kept the heaters going and in this fashion got the drywall and carpet bone dry. The plumber came Tuesday morning to fix the pipe... would you believe that the crack that caused all that trouble was so small it was barely visible?? Yep. Really. Fortunately, it was only $100 to get it fixed. Sweet! So now we just need to go get some carpet padding at Lowes, tape it to the stuff that stayed dry, then rekick the carpet, and patch the drywall. Overall, the damage to our pocketbook will be unbelievably minimal. God is so faithful to us!! If Ken had decided to go to bed when he normally does, we would have gone downstairs in the morning to find water up to our eyeballs.

Next the master bathroom. It is nearly complete, and I must say it looks AMAZING!! My husband gave me the best compliment when he saw it done... I'll save it for when I post pics. All that is left to do is hang the light fixture, and put a couple more pieces of (as yet unpurchased) art on the wall.

Last but not least, stitching... Haven't done much since last week. I did spend a couple hours on Border Study last night but due to the nearly constant need to frog (remove and re-do stitches... think "rip it! rip it!"), and horribly tangling thread, I think I got about 40 or 50 stitches in. Maybe. Ah well. No more stitching til the weekend, probably.

Hallelujah!! It's finally here!!

2009-01-21T12:39:00.002-05:00

What on earth am I talking about?? Surely something momentous! Surely something that will have far reaching effects felt across the globe! Surely something that could alter life as we know it!

Uhh... actually... it's a TV show. Yeah. Really.

LOST!!!!! Season 5!! TWO HOUR premiere!!! TONIGHT!!! The 8 month wait is finally OVER!!! WAHOO!!!

For the uninitiated... well, I'm not sure I can explain. But, I LOVE this show! There has never been a show on TV that is absolutely do or DIE viewing for me (OK, except Days of Our Lives when I was in junior high... but does that really count?? I think not.).... Did I mention I love Lost?

I'm addicted. Totally, irrevocably addicted. I love all the strands of mystery that make up the storyline. The blend of complex characters, sci fi, hard science, literary references, nods to pop culture... I think the part that has me hooked though, is that every week, the strands of the show get more and more closely woven. In May of 2010 the strands will finally be woven into one coherent thread. Until then, I will thoroughly enjoy wallowing in all the possibilities for how it will all play out.

Just 8 more hours til my blissed out state can begin!! Well, if I can get the munchkin to STAY in her bed, that is! :)

What on earth is that noise???

2009-01-18T01:39:00.002-05:00

The hubby was sitting in our basement watching a movie, generally minding his business and not doing a thing to bother anybody else, when he suddenly heard a loud, persistent, somewhat disturbing noise... coming from behind the drywall... it almost reminded him of a... waterfall??

He crept forward to investigate only to receive a harsh wake up call as he approached what sounded like the source of the noise. His feet were soaking wet... as was the carpet!

Yes, dear friends. We had a pipe burst. Oh joy, oh rapture. Being the inexperienced homeowners we are we ran around like the Keystone Cops for a good 5 minutes (at least) trying to figure out which red knob to turn to TURN. IT. OFF. Phone calls were made (sorry for waking y'all up!), and eventually the hubby ran a couple doors down to beg rescue from our "handier" neighbor. He ran (literally) over, and turned off the correct pipe!

It could have been MUCH worse. Praise God the hubby was actually still awake and in the basement so that we caught it as quickly as we did!

Plumbers, and drywallers, and air blowers... oh my!

Busy, busy!

2009-01-15T21:13:00.014-05:00

What?? It’s been a week since my last post?? Where does the time go?

Let’s see… what’s been going on…. We took down the Christmas decorations last weekend. Is anyone with me on this: I think this is the most depressing annual task I perform. Ugh. However, there is one undeniable plus. As Leah so eloquently put it the next morning when we came downstairs: “Oh WOW mommy! We have a BRAND NEW HOUSE!! YIPPEE!!” :)

I’ve also begun my first interior project of 2009: Re-doing the Master Bathroom. It’s going to be sooo nice to have this done! I’m not changing out cabinets, or counters; it will all be cosmetic. Paint, accessories, new curtains, new rug(s). Here are the “before” pics (yes, we did have a curtain up, and yes, all of our personal effects have been removed from the space):

As you can see, it is very… vanilla. It might be a while before I post my “after” pics…. There is one thing I want to do that I cannot do myself, and I’m not sure when our family friend (who happens to be a fabulous roofer and handyman) will be available to help me get it done… I don’t want to post the “after” pics until every detail is in place. Yes, yes…. The wait will be torture, I’m sure. Hehe.

On the stitching front, I continue to slowly progress in tortoise-like fashion on the Border Study in Non-Red. I’d say I’m about ½ done now. Here’s a progress pic:

There won’t be too much stitching going on until the bathroom is done. And, I’m afraid my 2009 stitching plan will have to wait until my next post (or the one after that, or the one after that)… I need to go do some painting! :)

Here I am again...

2009-01-08T22:41:00.006-05:00

Well, now that Christmas is over (and Leah's quilt is done) I have some time again to devote to stitching. So, this is the WIP I'm currently devoting my attention to. I actually started this mid '08 (I think), but it was/is the first time I've stitched on linen, and I got frustrated with it and put it down... I seem to recall making the mistake of trying to stitch while the hubby was driving down a windy country road. Problem #1: Near instantaneous nausea. Problem #2: I couldn't keep track of the stinkin' holes! So, being wiser now (ummm... maybe) I have picked it up again. It's going pretty well, actually (other than when I have to frog b/c I'm not paying attention, and other than the bane of every stitcher's existence - knotting thread). I only get a couple hours per day (at the most) to stitch. Considering that I only had the first few rows done when I picked it up again, I think it's actually going pretty quickly. I'd say I'm almost 1/3 of the way done. The design is Border Study in Red (obviously, I did not choose red. I chose DMC 3750.) from Heron House Designs.

One of the things I think I've learned while working this project is that the quality of the fabric used really does matter. I bought a cheapo 28 ct. linen at a big box store, and I wonder often if the way the fabric catches on the threads is part of the reason I get knotted up so frequently... any of you more experienced stitchers have any advice or insight on this?

My other WIP is Gentle Strength... not sure when I'll pick it up again, but I will. I really want to give it to my mom as a gift some day... not sure when that "some day" will be, though.

I have lots of grand plans for 2009 stitching-wise, but more on that in the next post.

New Year, New Blog

2009-01-06T14:21:00.003-05:00

Welcome!

So, we finally got high speed internet at home, and I thought: “Hey, since I don’t have nearly enough things to fill up my free time I think I’ll start a blog!” I’ve been lurking on several really great blogs for a while now (see side bar), all of which relate to one or more of my interests. They have all inspired me in various ways, made me laugh, and just generally been a source of great enjoyment… so much so that I feel compelled to participate in the blogiverse!

So, dear reader, what should you expect from this brand new baby blogger? Welllll… I’m not really sure! :)

Definitely progress pics of current projects (once I get myself set up in Picasa)… one note of warning: I am in awe of the rapidity with which many of you finish your WIPs! And I am definitely a very (to put it politely) S-L-O-W stitcher. So slow in fact, that although I could swear I finished a couple stitching projects in ’08, I can’t think of a single one! Umm, yeah. I have a theory, though. From late Jan. thru late March, I worked feverishly on a BAP for my mom (Gentle Strength – still not finished, by the way), and got a serious case of burn out. Well, by that time Spring had rolled around and I gave in to the urge to indulge another passion – gardening. That lasted until Fall when I started my first quilt (for my daughter). I finished the quilt Christmas morning at 4:30am. So, anyway, yes, not a single x-stitch finish in ’08. Maybe I’ll have an epiphany though, and remember one.

I’ll probably also torture you every so often with tales about my 3.5yo (going on 16) daughter, Leah. These will, of course, be absolutely fascinating and entertaining little tales in my mind (b/c of course my child is the smartest, most beautiful, funniest, blah blah blah… and besides - why else would I feel compelled to share?), but I warn you now – something may get lost in the translation.

Seriously though, and to try to wrap up this first post (oh yes, yet another warning – I can be seriously long winded… in case you hadn’t noticed)…

With this blog I plan to:

~In the cooler “indoor” months: Post progress updates & pics of current x-stitch, needlepoint, quilting, and home improvement/ decor projects.

~In the warmer “outdoor” months: Post progress pics of my ever evolving garden (which, honestly, currently consists of a v. small front bed [we have a TH], and a slightly larger bed in our postage stamp sized back yard). I have fabulous plans for turning the back yard into a garden oasis for the hubby & I (and friends) to enjoy this summer… ummm… we’ll see if hubby stays on board with those plans once real $$ are discussed. :) Hopefully stitching progress pics as well.

~In all months: Post about books that I particularly enjoy. Especially series I get addicted to (current obsession: The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning. O.M.G. Don’t let me get started. I’d be here all day). And as mentioned above, occasional tales of the deeds of my little cutie pie.

I think that’s about as ambitious as I should be right now. :)

So, welcome, and I hope you enjoy my blog!