Thursday, January 28, 2016

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.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

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