Poinsettias and Pines Finally Finished!

I just finished it up tonight. I was determined! It took exactly three months.

Blue Ribbon Designs "Poinsettias and Pines"
Fabric: 40 ct. Luna by Lakeside Linens
Threads: Belle Soie Silks
Started: 11/24/07 - Finished: 2/24/08

Now I'm thinking of starting Shores of Hawk Run Hollow. I know, totally crazy considering I only have 1 and 1/2 blocks finished on Houses and less than one block finished on the Village. Oh well, maybe I'll finish them all one day - when the kids are in college?? :) Write later!

edited to add better picture.

Happy Valentine's Day

Well, it's finally here. The day of flowers, candy and romance and my dh is hundreds of miles away. Oh well, what can you do?? I'm still having a good day regardless! It was made better when I got a sweet card from Tanya in the mail!

She included a cut of pretty pink linen and a cute little heart button! I love it Tanya, thank you so much!!

I did get a little stitching done last night. I finally finished up the tree row on Poinsettias and Pines. I'm so glad to have that row done!!

I'll be so glad when it's completely finished! Well, I'm watching four kids right now, so I'd better go! Write later and Happy Valentine's Day! :)

I Was Good Today!

I went to my LNS to get some threads and a couple other little things I was needing and he had gotten a shipment of Lakeside Linens. Oh they were so pretty. My heart was pounding. I was like a junkie needing a fix, but I closed the drawer where they were kept and walked away. I was so proud of myself!! :)

I was also good and worked on Poinsettias and Pines today. I would really love to get it finished up. I'm not too far away from being finished!

I hope to stitch on it some more tonight. Write later! :)

And More P&P

I feel so boring being a one-at-a-time girl. But that was my resolution to try to get things done, to stick to one project at a time. So I guess I'll just be boring. :)

It's cloudy today, so getting a decent pic was hard. I'm still getting used to my new camera and the different settings. It seems my pics are either dark or bright, it's hard to get them just right, which is why you see so many variations of this one design. One day I'll understand it all... I think?? :)

Chiloe asked if I knew when I'm moving. I think we're moving the first week of June after my ds is out of school. We'll have to find a place before that though because dh's lease is up at the end of May. Anyway, I can't wait. I'm counting the days! :) Well, nothing going on here. I'm thinking of taking the kids to The Pier just to get them out of the house! Writer later! :)

Changed Name Again

Yes, I know I should have my blog name be more stitching related that way I wouldn't have to keep changing my name so often. But where I live is part of who I am, so I guess I'll keep it for now. I chose the name because all I've been doing lately is dreaming of living in beautiful South Carolina. I can't wait! :) While I'm posting I thought I'd share a little stitching. I'm to the trees at the top of P&P! Now that I'm up there I feel like I can get it finished in a week or so if I keep at it!

Well, Jake is needing me, so I'll write later! :)

Blah...

Not much going on here lately. Just hanging out with the kids. I've been so tired the past couple of days. I'm not sure why, but I haven't done much!

I did work on "Poinsettias and Pines" just a bit yesterday and today, not really enough to show a pic, but I will anyway.

I did go to the bead shop today to stock up on some more beads and clasps. I'm meeting Deb Saturday and she wanted a fob for her daughter, so that gave me the perfect excuse to go shopping :) Well, I'm going to crawl into bed and hopefully not get up until 6:30 tomorrow. :) Write later!

Back to P&P

I thought I'd get back to Poinsettias and Pines before I forget it all together! I got a little bit more done this weekend...

I finished listening to "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon, and now I'm listening to "Dragonfly in Amber." I love these books so much. Davina Porter is such a wonderful narrator. I sometimes forget she's just one person because she does the voices so well.

Tonight is "Persuasion" by Jane Austen on Masterpiece Theater. I can't wait! Write later! :)

Thank you!!

Thank you to everyone for your very kind words! They mean so much! I feel so good about my decision. I just don't know how I would've done it for three years. As it is we'll have lived apart for a year and that's long enough! :)

Anyway, I do have a little more progress to share on P&P. Are you getting sick of this one yet?? I am, but I am determined to finish it!

It's hard to stitch something so wintry when it was 82 degrees today! It feels more like summer than winter. Oh well, what can ya do?? :) Well, not much else going on here. Just hanging out with the kids - getting ready to make dinner. Write later!

I'm Moving!!

I finally got up the courage to tell my mom and my brother what I wanted to do (thanks to a few kind friends who gave me great encouragement). My mom freaked at first, but is doing much better now. My brother was totally supportive, which helped to calm my mom down. Anyway, I'll be moving in June! Only five months. I'm so excited. Bradley is ok with changing schools and is glad he can finish up the year here. I'm glad too. I want to make the transition as smooth as possible. I told dh to look for a bigger place for us and get ready! :) I feel like a huge weight has been lifted! I'm so happy!

Well, I do have a little stitching to share. I worked on P&P again last night. I got some more of the words finished...

Well, not much else going on here! Just had to share my news! Thank you to everyone for your very kind words. I couldn't have done it without your support! :)

I'm Home

We made it home about 3 pm yesterday. I haven't done too much since coming home. Just a little cleaning and laundry. I definitely miss South Carolina! Thankfully dh is coming home this weekend and I'm going back up there the week after that. I need to get more pictures!

Well, I got back out Poinsettias and Pines. I'm determined to get it finished. Although I don't make New Year's resolutions I would like to try to be more of a one-at-a-time kind of gal. I just hate seeings wips and ufos build up. Anyway I don't have much progress, but I'll share a pic anyway. :)

I did get some fabric in the mail while I was away. I ordered this way before Christmas for "Christmas Tea" by Plum Street Samplers. The fabric is much darker than I thought it would be. I shouldn't order fabric I've never seen before on the internet anymore. It may actually be cute though. I probably won't stitch it now until next Christmas.

Well, not much else going on here. Just hanging out with the kids. Back to school and work tomorrow! Write later.

More Poinsettias and Pines

I finally got past the lower tree section on P&P!



The words shouldn't take too long. I'm kind of over Christmas stitching though. I may work on something else... Maybe get back to Prairie Sampler?? Well, not much going on here. Write later! :)

Christmas Joy

We all got sick yesterday. First Bradley in the middle of the night then Chris, then me. Jake only got it a little bit. I guess Matthew wasn't throwing up because of phlegm. I guess he had a bug and then we all got the bug. Fun, fun!

Unfortunately I have a history of being being sick at Christmas. One year I even spent Christmas day in the hospital because I was so dehydrated. I hope I'm not passing this unfortunate tradition (curse) down to my kids. The poor things. Thankfully they all seem to be doing better today. We are supposed to celebrate today because Chris is leaving to go back to S.C. today. He has to work tomorrow. I don't know if I can stomach a big Christmas dinner though. We'll see....

Well, I did manage a little stitching before I got too sick. I'm almost done with the bottom tree section on P&P. I'm definitely not going to get finished by Christmas. Oh well, what can you do?? :)

Well, not much else going on. I've been listening to "The Constant Princess" by Phillipa Gregory. It's pretty good. So much intrigue back in 16th century England. I'm looking forward to listening to more of these books. I also just finished season one of Mad Men. I highly recommend this show! I don't think many people know about it because its on AMC. I would have never heard about it if my mom hadn't told me about it. Season two is supposed to come out next summer I think. Anyway, I hope you all have a very Merry and Healthy Christmas! Write later! :)

Not Much Stitching....

I love having my dh home, but he's really cutting into my stitching time! :) Matthew being sick hasn't really helped matters either. He's been waking up very early around 4 or 5 am crying and coughing. This morning he woke throwing up a little because of all the phlegm. The poor guy. Waking up so early has left me exhausted at night. I've been going to sleep around 9 pm. I do have some good news. My husband checked out my wish list on Amazon and he actually bought me something from it. I was so shocked, I never thought I would get it. It came yesterday and he let me open in early.

It's a Nikon D40. I just can't tell you how much I love this camera and how much I have to learn about it. I've been experimenting with all the different settings. Here are some pictures I took of the kids...

And some pictures of my stitching...

I'm still experimenting with what's the best setting for taking pictures of my stitching. I think good lighting is key. Some of you may notice the fob - I kept one for myself too! :)

Well, I've got to finish getting Bradley ready for school. Write later! Hopefully with some stitching progress to share! :)

A Few More Trees

I haven't been stitching too much. I've kind of gone fob crazy the past couple of days. The bead shop has captivated me! It's just too tempting and sparkly going in there to come out empty handed. I did get a little bit stitched on P&P.

Along with making fobs I coffee-dyed some more linen. I may try doing a couple more pieces again when I have more time to see if I can get them a little darker. The best way for me is to just do them in the sink and poor the coffee over them. I tried simmering them with grounds, but they turned out a little grey.

My dh is coming home tomorrow for about nine days! He has a trial that he has to testify in from when he arrested someone down here. So they are giving him off for that and his supervisor told him he didn't have to come back until Christmas when he goes on duty as a duty agent. That when they get their cases. And then I'll be going up there with kids for a week on the 29th. :)

Well, not much else going on. Matthew is sick. He's caught a bug of some kind. He's had a fever, coughing and runny nose. I just gave him some tylenol, so hopefully he'll go to sleep soon. The poor thing.

I'll leave you a pic of some of my fobs. I guess I need to put some up for sale, but I just hate to part with any of them. I get so attached! LOL! :) Write later!

Two Trees and a Reindeer!

I did get some stitching done once I tore myself away from the computer! Although, now I'm not as confident that I will finish this in 13 days. Oh well, I'll just keep working on it and we'll see. :)

Bine in Germany asked what fabric and threads I'm using and the answer is 40 ct. Luna by Lakeside Linens and 1 strand of Belle Soie silk by Crescent Colours.

Thank you all for your very kind comments on my progress! Write later!

Stitching and Stuff

I got a little bit more done on P&P. It's coming along. I'm almost to the reindeer and tree section. I keep thinking if I do keep working on it non-stop maybe I will get it done by Christmas?? Maybe?? We'll see! :)

I use to have trouble with 40 ct. linen and I think I've figured out why. I always used a size 28 needle and I found it was too sharp and split the linen threads too much. I've been using a size 26 needle and it seem to be working much better. I did get a little stash in the mail yesterday too...

I got my "Brave Hearts" pattern and some silks for it from Handcrafts Online. I'll probably start this one sometime in 2008 after finishing P&P and Prairie Sampler.

Well, I'd better get some work done! Write later! :)

Home Again, Home Again...

And I'm not leaving home for a while! I got back from Georgia tonight and we are done! The house is cleaned out and cleaned up. I took all three boys and that was an adventure to say the least. They were pretty good though. I think I did say "Shhh" and "Be Quiet" at least 500 times. They were bouncing off the car walls! :) I should have took pictures of the house, but I didn't. It's too sad. I will miss it and the area we lived in. It really is so pretty there. I'm definitely a hills and trees kind of girl rather than a beach girl as much as I try to like it down here. Oh well, what can you do? It's done and it's time to move on!

I did get a bit of stitching done before we left. Here's a little bit more of "Poinsettias and Pines."

I'm sure I won't get this finished before the end of 2007, but I thought I'd put the year anyway. At least I won't forget when I started. I'm really enjoying this one and hope to keep working on it until it's done. I also got a little package in the mail before I left. I had to take a picture of the tissue paper. It was wrapped so pretty!

"Christmas Tea" by Plum Street Samplers

I fell in love with this design right when I saw it! I think it's so cute! Well, that's all for now. We are all getting a little cold. Everyone is sneezing. Of course we are though because the holidays are coming up. It seems we are always sick around Christmas time. Write later!

A little more Poinsettias...

I got the bottom row finished last night and started on the numbers above it. Again I only made it to 9:30. Which I guess is a good thing because Matthew woke up before 5 am today! Anyway, here's my wip pic. It's not much!

Just another day and it's back up to Georgia. I'm not looking forward to it and snapped at dh because he couldn't decide what size trailer he wanted. I'm just tired still and don't want to go. I'm feeling like a five year old, who is pouting because she has to do something she doesn't want to do. Oh well, after this weekend it will be done. I hope. Write later!

I got one too!

I actually got it last week and was so surprised! Thank you whoever you are out there! :) You made my day!



I got a little bit more stitched on Poinsettias and Pines. Not much because I'm still recovering from moving. I've been going to bed around 9:30 every night!

Well, not much else going on here. Just listening to the kids playing (thankfully nicely). I took a cute picture of them today.

I couldn't get them all to look at me at the same time! Who knew I'd have three cute boys one day! :) Write later!

I'm Back!

I'm back and I'm exhausted. Moving is not easy. At all. I feel like I've been run over by a truck. A big orange U-Haul truck. :)

Tuesday I drove up to Brunswick and that was fine I was able to relax and I got up the next day and stitched some. I went to Target and found something decent to wear to dh's graduation. After the graduation we drove to Charleston to drop off dh's car at the apartment and then drove up a little ways and stayed the night in Orangeburg, SC. We got up early and drove to White, GA where our house is. We got right to work. Bagging up garbage and packing up dishes, etc. On Friday we got the U-Haul and loaded it up with the garbage and old furniture. I'm ashamed to say we filled a whole 14' truck with just junk. We were amazed at all the stuff we accumulated in 14 1/2 years. It felt so great to get rid of all the stuff we didn't need, all the junk we had been carrying around with us for so long. After a trip to the dump we started loading the truck with things to take to the apartment. We got up early the next day and drove back to Charleston. Again we got right to work unloading and unpacking. Much easier this time because there was no junk to deal with! Only the essentials! The next day I got dh setup with wireless internet (only took two tries with two different routers), did some laundry (our dryer is not working so we had to go to the laundromat) and then I left for Florida. Dh did not want me to go, but I had to get back to the kids. They were missing me and I was missing them! It took me 7 1/2 hours to get home. I fell into bed hugging my pillows.

I have to go up again this weekend. We have some things we need to put in storage down here in FL. And I want to get some more cleaning done for the closing, which is still supposed to be on the 14th. I'm not looking forward to it, but it has to be done.

Well, I knew it would be a miracle if I got any stitching done. I probably stitched one hour in five days. Here's my little progress pics....


LHN "Prairie Sampler."
I decided to change the red in Prairie Sampler to Sister Scarlett instead of Red Fox. Red Fox was a little too light and pink. I think Sister Scarlett looks better with the rest of the colors in the design.


BRD "Poinsettias and Pines."
I tried to work on this in the car. That didn't work too well. It's not easy to stitch on 40 ct. linen in a moving vehicle! :)

Well, I think that's all. I wonder if I could get away with not working one more day. I just want to lay in bed and be lazy! :) Write later!