A little Saturday night fun….

Yep, I’m posting way too much for me!  Don’t know why, guess I’m just in a “blog” kind of mood.  So I ran out of my thread for Spring Butterfly and have to wait for the rest to come in.  Here is where I have left off with it:

That means I got to start Oriental Dragon a day early and I won’t argue   It has been fun so far, but I am only 200 stitches in.  I am enjoying it so much more being on 14 count.  So much so that I’m debating re-starting the HAED and doing it on 16 count.  I know, it would be huge, but I ran it by the hubby and he thought it would be totally awesome!  So I’m going to have to ponder that one, not to mention see if I can get fabby that size.  And that might actually require some kind of stand.  I also switched Coyote over to Aida and will be starting it over when it’s up for its turn again….  And where do I do all this thinking and stitching?  Right here of course!

Welcome to the best seat in the house!  I watch TV Shows or movies on the laptop.  Snacks and drink on the TV tray, heating pad and blankie, handy dandy lamp and stitch in total comfort!  I love my little cave!!  Oh, and everyone posts these TUSAL pics.  And then I saw how they made all their orts into ornaments at Christmas time.  And I adored that idea, even though I didn’t want to sign up for the TUSAL (Lord knows I can barely keep track of what day of the week it is!).  So I started saving mine at the beginning of the year.  This is almost all of them.  There is a definite lack of SpongeBob Yellow, but the kitties can reach in this vase and get strings out.  I recently found a bunch of S.Y.   I keep it on the floor by my chair so when I snip I just drop them in.

And these next 2 are a little blurry, but you get the jist of them, sorry for the blurriness.  Using the camera phone isn’t the easiest   My recent stash acquisitions:

Jack Frost in regular and opalescent and Porcelain Opalescent.  They are 25 and 28 ct Laguna.  But I seem to do okay with this count on smaller projects, just not ones where there is a lot of confetti stitching or over 1.  So that will be fine.  This pic does not do these guys justice as they are absolutely gorgeous!!

And 2 patterns that I have been wanting for awhile.  Snowman Ala Round and Tiramisu.  Tiramisu is in the color range of another stitch (even if it is celtic) that is on my list for the living room, and I think the pattern is totally cool.  And of course I can’t resist Snowmen. 

So that is it for the weekend guys!  I’m going back to my Grimm and Oriental Dragon.  I hope everyone in blog land is having a wonderful, relaxing and crafty weekend!

Animal Friday….

Okay, I know, but I will post a stitchy pic tomorrow when I finish my week on rotation   In the meantime, I thought some of you might like to see a current pic of Gambit and Logan.  Some have been following since they were only a few days old and have watch them grow and encouraged me as we ventured in new territory caring for these two babies.  They are a year old now can you believe it?  Gambit still takes after his name and is the sweetest mischievous brat I know!!  He loves to butt heads and love on you.  And he’ll lay on your chest and get to purring, but he still has to nuzzle your face.  He gladly accepts hugs and kisses, even on the face.  He’s the one that likes the outdoors and loves to go out with the doggies.  He also will sit on command for a treat, like the doggies.  Both kitties line up with the doggies for treat.  Here is my handsome guy Gambit:

Yep, he’s looking for trouble.  Actually, he was loving all over James and I and following us all around to help guarantee some outside time

 

Logan is the quieter of the two.  He will come and love on you and loves to curl up on your chest and knead and suckle at your shirt.  He does not like kisses and hugs though.  He also is petrified of outside and is most content sitting in the window.  I’m afraid Gambit terrorizes him some of the time.  I’m happy to report that the sores in his mouth are clearing up!!!  I don’t know if it was the grain free food, the change in the water bowl, or simply finding out that he really prefers to drink from a running faucet and giving him lots of opportunity to do this.  They’ve not had any of the catnip for awhile either.  I want them to clear up just a little more, which means no sign of them, then I may try the catnip and see if that was what triggered it.  I’m thinking not, I’m guessing it was the grain free food.  Anyway, here is a pic of my laid back Logan:

he loves to nap in the laundry room.  Usually it’s on that pink towel as I don’t normally have the clean clothes scattered about.  But he figured if we’re being too lazy to put the clothes away, he will take full advantage.

 

And of course, I have the 2 green-eyed monsters following me around and getting offended that I was taking pics of the kitties.  So of course I had to snap their pics for you too.

Ms. Cashew

Ms. Issabella

 

Tas, Dolly, Miles and Shelby must of either been outside or were curled up with someone.  I’ll get them a different time.  Hope you enjoyed seeing the babies!!

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HAED trials and tribulations :)

Well, my week of HAED rotation was interesting to say the least.  I tried 2x1 and was having so much trouble with it, so I tried 2x1 half stitches.  I did a whole rest of the column that way.  Sat with it a few days and didn’t like it.  So I scooted the fabby over and am doing 1x1.

after

before

I am doing better with the 1x1 and liking it ok.  The bifocals are a big help on this fabby!!  Then rotation time ended and it was time for Wolf.  But, due to some strained tension between Ty and I, I just wasn’t up to working on it.  So I put it up and decided to do this week as a free stitch this week.  And boy has it been fun.  I am going to have to add a free stitch week to my rotation!!

James’s musical note.  This is just so him.  As you know he is a musician at heart and plays in a band.  He “speaks” music. 

Another one for James, geek that he is

And this one is for Seb.  I saw this one and the goonies one on pinterest and etsy.  BUT, since I have PCStitch, instead of ordering a pattern, I just did it up in that.  It is in different fonts than the patterns were, but it still works. 

I spent the rest of yesterday and today not knowing what to stitch and unable to settle on anything.  But I was flipping through a JCS issue and decided on “Spring Butterfly”, and it is just for me.  So I started it tonight.  I’m collecting/starting some butterflies because a room somewhere is going to be butterfly themed.  Cave or bathroom, don’t know which yet. 

On the kitty front, Logan still has the sores.  One day they look better, the next they are flared.  I did call the vet and they think it *might* be rodent sores.  Generally caused by an allergy or immune disorder.  Generally recurrent and tough to get rid of, generally needing shots.  BUT, they did give me the amt of benadryl he could take, so we have done that some.  Food has been changed over to a grain free food and they have not had any cat nip.  Poor babies.  Oh, and the fur baby water bowl was a huge plastic mixing bowl and I switched it out to a metal one so that he is not using any plastic dishes.  I’m not even sure he drinks out of the communal water bowl as he really gets excited if there is a sink or bath running and will drink forever from the faucet.  So I’m also trying to run a faucet for him a little more often to make sure he is getting plenty of water.   It still changes from one day to the next.  Like today his lip LOOKS swollen when you look at him, but when I look at it up close, it doesn’t look bad at all.  I don’t see any sores, a little redness/irritation, but no sores.  I’m keeping a very close eye on it because a google search of rodent sore images showed some very nasty ones and there is no way in hades I will let that happen to my baby without some aggressive treatment.  Hopefully what we are doing will clear it up, but it won’t surprise me if we make a visit to the vet in a couple of weeks. 

KITTY QUESTION

Okay, I know this isn’t stitching related, but I have a kitty question.  As most of you know, the kitties are new critters to us (okay, yes x1 year since we raised them since 1 day old, but we’ve only ever had dogs) and we are unfamiliar with things that can happen with kitties (other than UTI’s).  Logan had what appeared to be a bite for some sort on his mouth a few weeks to a month ago.  It was in the upper lip, back corner of one side.  I check on it every few days or so and it kind of spread on that upper lip and I didn’t worry too much.  Figured bite needs to heal.  Then it got into the crack/corner of his lip and spread into the bottom portion.  Just that corner of that side.  Well, checking tonight, it is starting the exact same way on the OTHER side now.  And the original side isn’t even healed up yet!  AND, he has a red spot right between his nose/lip area where it looks like it might be coming up there.  It almost starts out like a popped pimple, little puffiness, etc.  Their food was changed about 6 weeks ago, catnip changed brands right before this started.  So I’m not sure if it’s an allergy to one of these, although it times more in line with the catnip change than the food change, or if cats can get herpes or what?  Gambit doesn’t have anything like it and they clean each other, fight and tussle, etc.  No doggies or humans have it either.  It appears to be exclusive to Logan only.  He is indoor only and never ever ventures out.  I have no clue what to do.  He is eating fine, drinking fine, nothing that is yelling at me, VET NOW.  But, as far as I know, unlike dogs, cats can not have anything human OTC.  dogs are so much easier, think it’s an allergy, I know how much benadryl to give them, how much robitussin, aspirin, tramadol, ointments to use, peroxide, you name it.  Cats, I know NOTHING.  I know of no supplements, ointments, anything.  So for those of you with kitty experience, if you have any idea what this could be, or what I can try to do to treat at home, it would be greatly appreciated.  Don’t worry, I have no qualms taking him to the vet, but since it doesn’t seem to be serious I would like to try and figure it out and treat at home.  (Yes, I’ve taken a dog to the vet before who appeared to be losing weight, she was just growing…yeah, so don’t worry, if we can’t figure it out and it doesn’t heal, he gets to go for a car ride!!)

Holy guacamole! First 200 stitches :)

It has felt so good being in the cave today behind some needle and fabric!  I got the first 200 stitches put in my very first HAED…”Fright Night”.  I LOVE IT!!

25 ct. Pewter Lugana.  I’m doing 2 threads over 1.  But man, those are some super teeny tiny little x’s.  And my back is not only a super hot mess, it is a HARD mess making it hard to get the needle through sometimes.  I’m also still trying to figure out how I want to handle the needles.  I’ve got a box with all the threads in it.  From there I pull out what is in the boxes I’ll be working on that day and put them in the lamp stand.  Today, I used the needle minder and did the whole symbol/number thing on it (for today’s threads only).  That makes it quicker to switch through I think, but I’m not sure how it will work in the long run.  I’m supposed to be looking through the bottom of the bi-focals to do this, and I actually go back and forth.  Either way it’s still tough on the eyes.  Any suggestions on how to organize, stitch, etc?  All HAED pointers I am fully open to!!

Oh boy, here we go!!

So much has happened it seems.  Ty moved to Dallas with my parents yesterday.  I’m so thrilled and excited for him, but I miss him.  Didn’t think I would, but after I got back yesterday, I did not want to be home with his empty room!  We have some spackling and painting to do on it then Seb will move in there and Frank will move into Seb’s room.  Things will continue to be a little crazy I guess!  All the furs are doing good.  I haven’t stitched in weeks.   So today, I’m making a point of being in my cave and starting my first ever HAED.  It is next in rotation.  Last in rotation was First Fall of Snow, which if you remember I had not started yet.  Here it is today:

  I didn’t work on it the full week, so not bad progress. 

Here is my totally blank canvas for “Fright Night”

25 ct Lugana in Pewter.  I’ve got my threads organized and everything ready to go, so I really shouldn’t put if off any longer!  I’m just nervous!!  But here goes nothing!!