Flowers

I am stitching for a chapter in a math book so I don't have anything to show this week stitching wise so I thought I would take a picture of my flowers on the terrace. Once they grow up, I am hoping the planters will be overflowing with plants. We love the look of the flower boxes on the front of English pubs so we try to achieve that look every year. My flower boxes have 12 plants in each box. The potted plant below is not my handiwork. It was purchase at the beautiful nursery in the hood. I literally mean the creepy West side of Chicago. We also have three boxes of herbs and hot peppers. Those are DH handiwork. Since I don't cook, I don't have much need for these things but they are yummy later in the season, plus so much cheaper than fresh herbs you buy at the store. I forgot to take a picture of the boxes on the front deck. I guess I will have to save those for a future post.

I went out last night with the girls. We went to a wonderful Sushi place called Coast. Five bottle of wine later, we went to a bar...Great idea!!

We don't have much planned for the long weekend. I am looking forward to relaxing and stitching. DH is running a 10 mile race on Saturday morning and I am stitching with the Guild ladies on Saturday afternoon. The Hawks play on Saturday and Monday nights so I am sure we will be watching the games. They play in town so my neighborhood will be hoping with activity.

I hope everyone has a nice Memorial Day Weekend!! Kelly

President's Mystery Project

The picture in black is the Presidents mystery project from ANG Cyberpointers. The big mystery with this project is when we are going to get our next set of directions. The last set of directions came out on Oct. 20th, 2009 and we have not gotten any since. I finished the middle square today. I was behind because the directions did not have enough tread to complete the Lazy Daises so I got frustrated. The colors are a little whacked out in this picture but they are still pretty bright. I think I will have this made into an insert on a bag. The colors are a little to much to decorate with but pink, purple and green are the colors in most of my clothes.

I spent Monday and Tuesday night working on this project. I did get quite a bit accomplished. All the blue in the flower is new.

I am not sure if I will be able to show a picture of next weeks work. I am doing a piece for a friend that is writing a chapter in a math text book on diaper patterns, needlepoint and math. I am supposed to test her directions and make comments. It is a cube but I only have week to finish this project so she can meet her deadline.

I did read a book this week. I finished Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters. It was a free book on Kindle and the first in a series of books. I enjoyed this book. It is a good, easy summer read. It has some mystery, some history, and likable characters. I think I will have to work my way through this series. Kindle was having a sale on book 8 so I did buy that one. I guess I will just have to fill in at full price 2-7. Currently, I am reading another free book from Kindle called Rooms. I am not far enough into this book to make any judgements yet.

The weekend is finally here. We are having friends over tonight to watch the Hawk's game and have some dinner. Tomorrow is a friends 40th birthday party in the suburbs and Sunday will be more hockey and stitching butt so I can get the cube done on time. I am also planning on planting flowers this weekend. It is supposed to be in the 80's which is my favorite temperature.

I hope you have a great weekend. Kelly

Oh Chrismas Tree and Other fun

Hi, Above is a picture of my new travel project but I was having so much fun, I worked on this a lot of Saturday. This is from the 2009 JCS Christmas Ornament magazine. This will be Oh Christmas Tree by Charlotte's Web Needlework. I had a hard time getting this project centered and counted correctly. The pattern was not real clear to me that there are four threads difference on each level. Now I am on my way and I am getting the counting thing down. I am going to make a few ornaments for a friend. Her home blew up due to a gas leak three day's before Christmas. They all made it out safely but their home was a total loss. Their son will be three next Christmas so I thought they would like some ornaments. My guild friends are going to make some as well so this will be one of my donations.

This is what I worked on Saturday night and some of Sunday. This one is moving along quickly.

Here is what I accomplished on Beautie Spot. Hopefully, I can spend some time with this piece and get some of this filled in.

My friend was here on Tuesday and Sunday night from Paris. She is a flight attendant so she occasionally gets the Chicago route. We were up way to late last night but I think I can do this work thing today without a nap. It was great catching up with her!!

Last Thursday we got a nice surprise. We have been in the middle of charity season and DH bought some raffle tickets at one of the events. The sound system at the event was awful and we could not hear anything so on Thursday the charity called and said we had won the raffle. It is two tickets on American Airlines for a trip to London or Frankfort. We go to London fairly frequently so we are going to take the tickets to Frankfort and go from there to Prague and Berlin. At least this is the tentative plan. Nothing has been booked or finalized. DH has a new consulting job lined up for June to October so this is cutting into my vacation time again. We have a year to use the tickets so we have plenty of time to get this in. We also have the trip to Santa Fe to use, I am spending a week in Columbus for ANG, and we are going to Sao Paulo for the Grand Prix. Work pays for my play but it can cut into my play time.


Finally, I will leave you with a picture of my little old man, sunning himself on the glider. Dillon will be 17 in June. He spends lots of time on the terrace in the summer. When we are home we leave the sliding glass door open so he can go in and out. Yesterday I was reading outside and I see something big fly into the condo. I get up and look and see a little yellow bird sitting on a pillow. I screamed! DH went to the bedroom and shut the door and got the bird back outside without harm to the bird. That sweet little bird did not even pooh in my room.

Happy Monday! Kelly

Finished Ort Box

I finished my Ort Box last night. Yeah!! It was kind of dark outside and getting ready to rain when I took these pictures so they are not really clear. I am so happy this project is off my list. It was fun to stitch and I did learn along the way. I am not big on finishing and this ended up being a project about finishing. I have the supplies for about 10 more of these but I doubt another box is in my future. My mom looked at this project over the weekend and said this is a whole lot of work for a garbage can. I am afraid I have to agree with her.

Folded

Top - This is lined with Angel Suede. Invisible thread was my friend on this project

Side

Bottom

I did start the scissor case from Teresa Layman's Sweet Harmony last night. I needed something small to work on because my stitching chair was in use by the cat. I really need to stand up to him and take my chair back so I can work on my stand and big projects. I could also move my floor stand to my other chair. He can only be in one place at a time...

We had a nice time downstate over the weekend. I did not go to my 25 year high school class reunion. I did not enjoy 20 so I figured 25 would not be any better. We stayed up too late on Saturday night with my brother and his wife. On Sunday, we had Mother's Day lunch of steak, shrimp, twice baked potatoes and other sides which were delicious.

Tonight, my maid of honor, is flying in from Paris. I have not seen her in a year so it will be great to catch up. Hopefully, tonight will not end up being a late one. The Blackhawk's play hockey in Vancouver so the game does not start until 8:30 and they will not end until around 11. I guess I should face reality and start drinking caffeine.

After tonight, the rest of the week should be quiet so hopefully, I will have something stitchy to show later this week. Thanks for stopping by. Kelly

Not just One but Two finishes

Last night was a good night! I finished my Sweet Harmony scissor fob and my Soldier Kissing pillows. My long project list was making me kind of twitchy so I was determined to get some things crossed off the list. The scissor fob just had some background around the top to finish.

I finished my six Soldier Kissing pillows. I made six because that is how many pieces I could get out of my piece of Aida. I am really glad this is done. I really do not enjoy making these but I think they are so nice for the soldiers and their families. Next week I will mail these off to the organizer. She has offered to do the finishing if she receives the stitching by June 1st. I do not have a sewing machine anymore plus I am not fond of finishing so I will take her up on her offer. I will send her a donation to help cover the cost of the supplies.

We are going downstate for Mother's Day. I don't think I have been down there since last summer. My parents come to Chicago or I see them in Florida in the colder months. I get to use my mom's surger to go around the edges on some of my pending projects which is so exciting. No more unraveling!! I started three weeks ago pulling things together that need surging. I also bought an Ace Bandage last night so I can try to make a frame cover. I do use Evertites but they can kind of snag some knits or rayon shirts.

Most of my projects are too big for car travel. I think I will work on my Sweet Harmony Scissor case, my ort box or my Easter Punch Needle in the car. I do have some smaller projects kitted but starting one of those defeats my goal of getting things off my list so I can start something new.

I hope everyone has a great Mother's Day. Hopefully, you will have some time to stitch this weekend. Enjoy. Kelly

2010 ANG Seminar Classes

I must be absolutely mad for taking on more projects. Becky Bee's Stitching is having a lovely give away. As part of her give away she would like participants to answer some questions about their WIP's. One of her questions is how many WIP's do you currently have. Off the top of my head, I came up with 9. I can also come up with an equal number of projects that are kitted and hanging out waiting to be started. I did not sign up for Becky's drawing because I cannot bear to have anymore projects!!


Here are my ANG Seminar classes for Columbus and I am so excited for October!!



Full Moon Frog Stew taught by Debbie Stiehler (two day class)

Santascicle by Janet Z. Casey (1/2 day class)

Tiny Trinkets:Square by Orna Williams (1/2 day class)

Funky Rose by Terry Dryden (2 day class)

If I remember what I signed up for, I think the classes are all my first choice except Funky Rose. I love the Funky Rose design and Terry's projects but I took one of her classes last year. Hopefully, this project will be different than what I learned in Safari because it has some canvas painting and I think it is a little more free form than I am accustomed to. My selections for seminar were mainly based on the techniques being taught and the teachers. I think I got some great classes in the lottery.

I did make some progress on my scissor fob last night. That should be done this week with any luck. I get to use my mom's surger this weekend to make some nice edges on some of my WIP's and future projects. Hope you are making progress on your projects. Happy Stitching!!

Question of the Month

This is posted on Lake Stitchers blog and I thought it would be fun to play along. Here is the question for this month:


Suppose we say that there are two types of stitchers.

There are those who enjoy the “process” of stitching. They stitch for stitching’s sake and if something gets finished, so much the better, but it’s not necessarily the end goal. Primarily, it’s the application of needle and thread to cloth that makes them happiest.

Then there are those who are “project” stitchers. They move steadily through their projects, certainly enjoying their stitching time, but finding their greatest joy in the completed stitching.

If you had to pick one to describe yourself, which type of stitcher would you be? I imagine that we could all say that we fall somewhere in between, but really think hard about this and try to pick just one. And once you’ve decided whether you’re a Process or Project stitcher, tell us if your recognize that approach in other parts of your life.



I am most definitely a project stitcher. I have lots of projects going on now and it is driving me crazy. I really want to focus and get some of the projects done. I am in financial reporting so process and order are a big part of my life.


ANG is mailing the class selections this week and I am so excited to see what I got. This will create another 2 to 4 projects. I am also going to take a class that a friend is teaching as part of her requirement to complete her NAN certification. That class will be in July or August. All these projects are not making me comfortable but I am having fun.


I don't have any pictures to post because I did not lift a needle all weekend. We had a Derby party on Saturday so I had to get the house ready and Sunday was the fundraiser for Chicago House. My dress was a hit. We did buy a trip from the silent auction. We are going to Santa Fe. The package includes airfare on American to anywhere in the US and two nights at The Encantado hotel/spa. We love New Mexico and Taos. I am not sure if we will stay more than two nights at this hotel or move up the mountains to Taos. I am sure we will make this at least a week long trip. In the area there are resorts with mineral baths and spas that I might want to stay at. If you have any suggestions for must do's in this area, please leave me a comment.


This week should be quiet so I am going to get some stitching done. We are going to visit my Mom for Mother's Day so we will be out of town for the weekend. Hopefully, I can get some stitching done in the car. Happy Monday. Kelly