Slow but steady progress

Happy Monday!  I have been doing some stitching but it seems I can work a few hours but I am not making great progress in any one sitting.  Windy City Santa is ready for our second class with Libby Sturdy next Saturday.  All my homework is done plus I finished the water, added the boats, added the grass, and finished a few more buildings.  I am happy with what I have done.  This piece was chosen as my 2012 challenge piece to finish by next January.  

I have also been spending some time with the wave piece.  I am almost done with row 21 of 26 row in the total project.  Then I will need to add eyelets and the starfish near the white thread (where the water meets the sand.)  I am working on this piece because it has one set of my 12 inch stretcher bars.  I need a frame that is 12x12 for a class I am taking on February 18th and 19th and I really do not want to buy bars if I can help it.  I will have to take Frog Stew off for the other set of bars but this is the economical thing to do.  If DH gets a job this week, then I may be over this economizing thing and buying one more 12 inch set. 

I have also been busy reading library books.  I finished 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami.  This book was around 950 pages so it was like reading 3 books and it took a while.  It was pretty good but  not sure I would say you have to go out and get this book unless you are a fan of the author.  This is the first book of his that I have read.   Now I am reading The Tigers Wife by Tea Obreht.  I am about half way through this book.  Again this one is OK but I am not telling anyone to rush out and buy this either. 

On a less refined note and probably where my mind needs to be right now.  Loved catching up on the Bachelor and 24 Hour Catwalk yesterday.  Recently, I watched half of the this seasons Dexter and this is another great season.  Finally, I finished season one of Boardwalk Empire.  Loved it!! 

We did have a big weekend and the Happy Monday comment is more to psyche myself into believing it.  On Friday, about 15 of us went out for Tapas.  It was a good time but we got home late.  On Saturday night we had friends over that we met on our trip to the Turks in December.  They came in with a ton of wine and we killed it all.  DH made a wonderful meal of shrimp and scallops with a chipotle butter sauce for starters, the main meal was a cassoulet and an asparagus dish with poached egg and pancetta.  For desert, he made a tort.  This turned into another late night so by last night I could not get relaxed even though I should have been exhausted.  Oh well, the work week is to straighten out the bad habits from the weekend:)

Hope everyone has a great week with lots of stitching time.  Cheers!

Beautie!!

 Today is a day to celebrate the finish of Beautie Spot.  Excuse the wrinkles and the poor photos.  Beautie has been traveling and has to go to Guild on Saturday so I can show everyone that I finished my challenge piece.  The second picture is so you can see the spangles.  I am supper happy that this three, maybe four year, WIP is done.  I am not sure what I am going to do with this.  People suggested a fire screen and that is a good idea.  I do have a fire place but I am going to think on this for a while.  If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them. 

I have also been making progress on Windy City Santa. I am working on the homework for the class in February. I finished his mittens, I worked on the background, I did the green down the center of the coat and I worked on the buildings. I was a little intimidated by the building but once you get going they are not that big of deal. Part of the homework was to finish the building to the far right so we can put the Farris wheel in. I think I will continue to work on this for a bit since I am happy with my progress. Maybe I will make this next year’s Guild Challenge piece. This one has been in my WIP pile for several years.

The big news yesterday was DH quit his job. We found out Saturday night that the company he was working for was shopping his job. He was not happy at this company and was looking for another job so this was the final straw. They mutually agreed that it would be best if he just left the company. It will all work out for the best. He worked his contacts yesterday and he has a third interview for a global roll with an investment bank. He has an interview today with another investment bank and he started his consulting company back up. He is going to help a friend market a product he developed. I would say that was pretty good progress for one day out of a job.

Have you seen the latest issue of Bon Appetit? They have veggie tart on the front cover this month. It was a ton of work to make but it is delicious. I am looking forward to left overs for lunch. With my chef unemployed, there will be lots of good eating at our house. He was taking requests from the neighbors last night.

That is all around here. Hope everyone is getting into the swing of the New Year and has tons of time to stitch.

Happy 2012

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season.  I decided I really liked not working but life would not be as much fun without the paycheck. 

I finished the Night at the Opera ornament by Princess and Me.  He went to the finisher on Saturday.  I think he turned out cute and he was a fairly quick stitch. 

I did finish stitching Beautie Spot while I was in Naples for Christmas.  When I got home, I ironed the piece and a little bit of color ran under the deer.  I fixed the problem by picking out the black and adding a couple more rows of stitching so all is well.  I am adding the spangles which are not in this picture.  I added all the spangles that I had but I am about 20 spangles short.  They were shipped yesterday so this is getting so close to finished and I will post a final picture soon!!

Our guild had a stitch-in on New Years Eve day.  We had a great turnout of 15 ladies.  I worked on Windy City Santa but I did not take a picture.  That night we had a dinner party for eight friends and two babies.  DH made southern appetizers of shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles, and biscuits and gravy.  For dinner he made a filet, twice baked potatoes and creamed spinach.  It was a wonderful meal and lots of wine.  It is great to live with a man that loves to cook and he cleans up.

I hope 2012 brings much happiness, good health, and lots of stitching time.