Where does the time go. I knew I had not posted in a while but it has been close to a month. I did not post because I really have not accomplished all that much. We had a nice class at my EGA guild in February and I finished it.  It was a petite project by Mary Waldsmith. I am sure you have seen this many places recently. I pretty much followed the suggested threads and it was fun to do.

I also finished my crewel project by Barbara Jackson, Berry Bandit, offered through the Shining Needle Society.  I am not sure crewel is my thing but it was an interesting class. I have no desire to finish this on my own so another project in the to be finished pile. 

I also had a nice Sunday with my ANG guild. We went to the presidents house and had an afternoon of stitching and snacks. I really did not accomplish all that much but even a few leaves on my project is better than nothing. 

I have been very good on my nutrition program and power yoga. I am on the aging program so not really trying to loses weight. I would be happy losing 5 pounds but that is not the main purpose of my program. My husband has started parts of the program as well which was my main reason for doing this whole thing. I have lost inches and my clothes do fit better.  My skin and nails are clear and strong so that is an added bonus. I want to rock a swim suit by the time I get to go on vacation. I won't say I will wear a bikini because after a certain age that is just not right and I am beyond the bikini age.

Well my next post should be more interesting. My EGA guild is having a retreat in a couple of weeks. Hopefully, on that weekend I will have some progress on my Edie and Ginger frog with a stitch guide by Tony Minieri.

Hope you all have an awesome week with lots of beautiful stitches.

Kelly

Thanks for reading and commenting on my rant about my husband last week. He did go to two doctors this week and has an appointment with an allergist next week. They think part of his problem might be related to allergies. I have decided just let him take care of himself and let him sit around and be a bump by himself. I am going to live my life and enjoy myself. I start a nutrition program next week. I am hoping it will help me lose a few pounds so I can look terrific on the beach when I finally get to go on vacation.  Hopefully, I will go on a March/April vacation and I hope to go someplace out of the country in June. If my husband is better, he can join me on either trip but he does have to take care of his health and overcome being an ass before I am going on any trips with him. Also on my positive life, I am eating better because I am eating at home and I am doing hot yoga three days a week. I am kind of getting into this working at home thing for the good things it I am getting out of it.

Onto my stitching. You would think I could conquer the stash I have collected over the years but I just keep a slow plug along. It would be helpful if I did not keep adding classes to the stash. I can be a class junkie. More about the new mini class next week but they still take time to complete.

I spent Saturday with the ladies from my guild and I did get a fair amount accomplished. The group stitching days are fun. You may get a little more done in your own nest but you also get to see the beautiful work everyone else is working on.  Here is a picture of my Shinning Needle class crewel project this week:

I worked on the strawberries and the groups of three leaves at the guild.  I hope to get a little more done this weekend.

Sunday was one of those days where thinking about long and short was not going to cut it. I spent the day doing French and colonial knots.  I finished the Ghost, the green corners and started the purple boarder. It may not look like much but that is quite a few knots. 

This actually looks better in person than in the picture. The picture is from my IPhone and it is pretty close up. I need to keep this in mind when I do before and after pictures of me for the nutritional program I am starting.  Yikes, that could be scary.

This weekend does not have much going on. A friend may come over for Champagne after her spa treatments this afternoon. She is sailing in the Caribbean for the next two weeks. I am thinking about running some errands in the suburbs on Saturday and a friend is having his 40th birthday party on Saturday night. I have nothing planned for the Super Bowl. I really don't care about the game so most likely I will not even turn it on.  

Hope you have a terrific weekend with lots for fun and stitching!

Kelly

This is a stitching blog but I have another issue today that I just don't know how to deal with. My husband has been ill. Nothing life threatening but it does require some medications that have some side effects like being moody and sometimes really tired. Today he was so exhausted he could not sit up at the table. When he got up, he fell over the back of the couch and his feet were over his head and it took him a couple of minutes to get upright. I wanted to call 911. He would not let me call 911 or his doctor. I told him to call the doctor himself and he won't do that either. I don't know what is left to do.  I am thinking about packing my hospital bag and waiting for him to force me to call 911 because I cannot pick up his 210 pound body. He just lied to me and said he called for an appointment but he didn't because I have been within earshot all afternoon.  If anyone has any suggestions on how to deal with an obstinate 50 year old, please let me know.

Thanks for the rant it did make me feel better, now onto stitching. I really have not done much this week. I have had things going on like doctor appointments and my handyman was here all day yesterday sealing the stone in  my bathrooms and some general maintenance. I did finish my first two lessons on my crewel project. I think it turned out pretty good. I am still reading over the instructions and building up the courage to start the third set of instructions. The instructions are not overly clear to me and some of the drawings are different or not part of my line drawing. Fortunately, I have been stitching long enough I can wing some of this. The class is for all levels but I think a beginner would be more scared of this project than me. Here is a picture of my progress (today is a gloomy day so no natural light):

This weekend only has EGA going on. We have a meeting about the regional seminar in 2017, then the rest of the day will be a stitch-in with all the ladies. I am not sure the lighting is good enough in the room for the crewel project but I have plenty of other projects that can entertain me for the day.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for stopping by.

A return to blogging

Hi, Remember me?  I have been out of the blogging world for a couple of years but I thought I might come back. While I love Needlepoint Nation and all the beautiful work people post, I am not that comfortable with posting a bunch on Facebook and to be honest most of my friends are just not interested in my needlework.  I really should not care whether or not they like my needlework, I don't care to hear about their political views (right or left) or the many pithy sayings.

Also, my work has changed and frankly I could use some new friends. I am working at home about 95% of the time so I am trying to do some things so I can still communicate with people when I get out in the world. I have only been working at home for the past couple of weeks and I think I like it. For years, I have worked two days a week at home but the firm is cutting out about 10 floors and I have to reserve a space to go into the office. Reserving a space is not an issue, the issue with going in comes from not even having a drawer in the office. There is no place for a few personal items such as a note book, Kleenex, antibacterial wipes, a computer lock, a hairbrush etc. I walk about a half mile to the office and I have to haul all this stuff over every time I go into the office. I have decided to go into the office a couple times a month when my house is being cleaned or if I have a meeting in the office.

Let me get back into blogging by showing you my recent finishes.

The blue ornament is by Princess and Me. This was my traveling project over the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. 

Golfing Santa is by Libby Sturdy. I worked on this project over the summer. When I can move out of the cold north and onto a golf course in the south, this can be a holiday stand-up.

 This pretty little flower ornament was a travel project done in San Antonio when I went to the EGA National Seminar.

 This is an EGA project to teach us Or Nue'. It is a fun technique. 

The two Halloween projects are small ornaments by Janet Z Casey. My husband was sick in the fall and I was working on the casket in the ICU. He was no where near in need of a casket but I really had to think if it was in good taste to work on this in such a somber place but it was my travel project at the time. In my defense, the visit to the hospital was a surprise and I did not have time to pick a more appropriate project.

Coyote in the Afternoon is designed by Barbara Elmore and taught at EGA National in Phoenix. The picture below is a postcard from the original artist. I am pretty proud of this needlepoint and I am happy I was able to finish it. Barbara is a fun teacher and fabulous designer.

Now lets move on to what is in process. Some of these projects you may see for a while because they are big.  Please do not think this is all I have in process but these are the ones currently catching my attention.

 The Frog is by Edie and Ginger. I took this as a class with a stitch guide by Tony Minieri.  This project was also chosen by the Guild Ladies as my challenge project to have completed by January 2017. At one point in November, I hoped to do a flower a week and get this project done.  HaHaHa! We will have to wait and see the progress in 2016.

 Sometimes I just need knots. This is a French knot and Colonial knot project by Teresa Layman. I have had this project in process for a while but it did not take off until the Christmas/New Year holiday break. It is a little rough on the hands but making all the knots is good for the soul.

 Daisy Delight is a class from EGA National Seminar in San Antonio. This will be a Japanese Embroidery purse taught and designed by Mary Alice Sinton.  It was a great class! The purse is beautiful when it is done.

Finally, this came in the mail today so this may get my focus for the next few weeks. The Berry Bandit is a crewel project offered through the Shining Needle Society and designed by Barbara Jackson.  I have never done any crewel work so this will be a new experience. It was designed for all levels so hopefully I will be able to successfully complete this project.

Well this is enough about me. I will have some more things to share shortly. Windy City EGA is planning the regional seminar in Chicago in 2017 so we have lots of fun things going on and I cannot wait to see the classes the ladies picked. I have high hopes there will be something different from the usual offerings.

Please drop me a note and let me know people are still following the blogs. Rumor on Facebook is people still like blogs. If you have a blog, let me know your site and I can start following you as well.

Take care and Happy Stitching,

Kelly