Not so stash stash day :)

One of my facebook Silkweaver sale orders came in. This is from when they had all those cute adorable snowmen.  I'm such a snowman fanatic!!  This is what I got :)

Aren't they just the cutest?  I'm waiting for James to get home and improvise me a hanger to hang the one on the desk so I can hang it on my door.  I love my little snowmen :)  And yes, I did get me a piece of fabric!  I noticed I've been ordering a lot of blue, so I get a pretty light purple color.

I'm still plugging away on Spongebob, although I have taken a break for a few days.  Between Ty's EEG, his Canada revelation, and my escaping into some reading, I've just not been stitching.  But I am in the cave today doing some stitching :)

I still have another Silkweaver package coming in hopefully this week.  I got a couple of patterns and a piece of fabby, maybe 2.  I hope you enjoyed the pics!

Grow your blog!!

Okay so reading blogs I read over at Daffycat that Vicky is having a grow your blog thing.  I love reading blogs, so why not.  Now, you see the button for it over there in the upper right hand corner, have you tried to click it?  Yeah, it doesn't work because I don't know how to do that.  But if you click  here it will take you where you need to go.  Hopefully now that the laptop is back I will be a more regular poster to blog land :)  but I sure do enjoy reading post.  It is a part of my morning and evening routine :)

Blog Land Enablers

So catching up in blog land, I came across this blog by Tama, I now blame her for enabling me.  Of course I had to go take a look, and look at what jumped into my cart:

Spiderman, which James adores.

Light and Life, which hopefully Seb will like :)

Wolf of the Trees, for Ty.  Of course it may be a long while before this one gets stitched :)

Wolverine, I was thinking of James along with Spiderman on this one, but this one is just not Wolverine to him, it is of course, Hugh Jackman.  Which is who we non-nerds think of as Wolverine, but who is NOT the iconic comic book Wolverine, so this one just may never get stitched.

All for less than 8 bucks!!  Now that is a price you just can't beat!
Go on over here and check them out, I dare you!!  So many amazing patterns delivered right to your email, instant gratification!!

A finish and a start....

I finished the Minecraft one for my oldest nephew :)  It is done on 18 ct cream Aida.  The pattern is by Lord Libidan on Etsy.  Now to give it a wash, iron and frame :)

I did get started on Spongebob..not much progress for today.

Not a lot of stitching today, it was not a good day.  Need a re-boot for the week.

Stitching Progress :)

It looks like I will have a finish tomorrow to show!  Woo Hoo!!  I started my oldest nephew's very late Christmas present.  Santa was just too busy and didn't tell me until Christmas Eve what they might like (a little fib, actually my brother was a little late telling me and I didn't find out until the week before!!).  It is easy and a quick stitch.

He is a little Minecraft finatic so hopefully he will enjoy this. 

And here is this week's progress on Halloween House:

  I hate that the weekend is over!  I really want to pop another movie in and finish my nephew's, but it's time for the regular week schedule so no staying up until 2am stitching and watching movies.  With Seb's room right next to my cave, the movie and light interferes with him being able to sleep.  So it's off to bed and reading I go.  But tomorrow I will finish his, then I need to start my youngest nephew's spongebob one.  Once those two are out of the way I can focus on Halloween House again :)  It is nice to take a little break from Halloween House though.  I just hate working with a hoop.  I have 2 8x8 homemade qsnaps, but I never could find the right material to make the clamps.  Does anyone out there have 8x8 Qsnaps that they wouldn't mind measuring the clamps for me?  If I can find that out, then I can maybe just order replacement Qsnap clamps that would fit the ones I made, then no more hoop!!!

First Finish of the New Year!!!

I'm so excited!!  I've been working hard on Halloween House, and no before anyone gasps, it is not the finish.  It is coming along nicely and I'll probably have a progress pic after this weekend.  My stitching group as a stitch-in every weekend so I'll wait till after the weekend to post a progress pic :)

Anyways, I took a short break to work on our groups first ever small pattern January SAL.  This pattern was picked because yes the Newtown tragedy was heavy on my heart and as all tragedies like that do, it brings back the horror of losing my own daughter. 

The heart is done in DMC 4240 which is in their variegated or variations, it's of the blue blends.  She was a September baby so her birthstone is a Sapphire and the blue represents that.  Of course her wings are done in pink, DMC 48.  The variation in the coloring is much more prominent in it, which seems to be the main difference between those 2 color lines.  It is done on lavender sunset and it is either 28 or 32 count, stitched over 2.  Except I did the name over 1, which is what really made me feel like I just might be working on 32 count, had to pull out the magnifier and I'm still cross-eyed.  I'm very, very happy with it and think I will probably finish-finish it into a cube for my shelf.

First post of the New Year :)

Of course I had intended to make a nice New Year's Eve post yesterday.  Reminisce about what I've learned in this first year of cross stitching, my laughable goals not met, my love for all things cross stitch, my new found fascination with wrangling the budget to buy stash, hiding said stash from hubby so I don't have to be "fair" and wrangle budget for him to get something of "equal" amount (don't worry, he gets plenty all the time, he really does, music stuff, games, books, etc  and I don't, but for whatever reason if momma spends the guys think they should get something of equal value, go figure :) ).  I was also going to do the editing of the blog.  Yep, great intentions.  But, I was just blah.  Hubby and I both were.  We didn't want to fiddle on the computer, read, watch a movie, do "our thing" (him play games, me stitch), we seriously considered going to bed early!!  He finally decided to hope over to his brothers and I finally found a movie to put on.  And for whatever reason we slept until 1:30 today.  Yes, we are late sleepers as it is, I get up on a normal day anywhere between 10 and 11, but 1:30 is out of the ordinary.  Although in our "neck of the woods" New Year's means ringing it in with everyone firing off guns and they do it for hours.  Not necessarily a peaceful way to try and get to sleep so we were up till 3am or so.  We lazed around a bit and then I headed off into the cave.  Halloween House has been back on the snaps for a week now and here is how it looks: 

The new level of the house is where I started with a blank canvas, so I think it is pretty good progress.  The kitties have finally discovered my threads in their little tray on my lamp and like to get into them in the night now.  Drives me bonkers as I so love being able to leave them in the little compartments on the tray.  But no, now I have to bag them up each time I finish stitching and drag them back out when I'm ready to stitch.  Needless to say, I make sure I'm going to be able to stay awhile stitching.  I can shut the door on the room, but with the temps in the teens at night this room gets way too cold and I wouldn't be able to get it warmed up to stitch in the next day. 

The kitties.  Oh my babies.  Those 2 little bitty things have sure grown.  They are little scamps too.  They can no jump to the tallest heights of the house, are great little mousers (even if they prefer to just play with it, not eat it) and they never cease to entertain us.  They rip roar through the house after each other.  They snuggle and love on us.  They terrorize the dogs by day and curl up by them at night.  It can be so funny because Angel a.k.a Devil dog does NOT want them laying by her at night and if they even get within 3 feet of her she snarls and barks.  But I'm telling you, Logan is the stealth master at sneaking up beside while she is sleeping and laying down just barely touching her.  It is so funny and cute at the same time. 

That one is Mr. Gambit, daddy's boy.  He loves his daddy.  He's also the escape artist and loves to run out the door.  He was missing for 24 hours one day and it traumatized the whole house.  Tas and James found him next door.  Another time he got out, I found him by our car.  I was leaving and had just let the dogs in.  I swear it is the part of him that thinks he is a dog and he is wanting to go out with the dogs when they go.  Yes, he thinks he is part dog.  We had a trainer come work with us on the dogs and I've continued to work with them.  They are working on "sit" and "down".  I use kitty treats (hey they're tiny and lots of 'em and when you have 5 dogs, that works).  I kept telling James I thought Gambit was learning to "sit".  He said no way, cats don't learn commands.  One night I was working with the dogs and of course the kitties line up too.  Gambit is sitting and the guys were like he just wants the treat.  I said they all do, but if that is all, he would just swipe it from my hand, you know that.  And yes, at that moment he swiped and kitty ninja attacked my hand.  I pulled it back, told him know, and did the hand motion with a firm "sit".  He sat.  Each time I would go down the line with the other critters he would stand back up, but when it came his turn, hand motion, "sit", he would sit.  Yes, he thinks he's a dog and the guys had to shut up :)

Sorry this one is blurry, I could not get him to sit still for me.  This is my baby Mr. Logan.  He is momma's boy and he gets treats when I'm working with the other critters but in no way does he follow a command.  He grabs the bag and takes them.  He doesn't antagonize the dogs as much as Gambit does.  Gambit chases Issabella, Logan does not.  He has no interest in going outside.  He's a good boy.  Except when he falls in the bathtub.  I can not take a bath alone.  He must go in there and prowl the edge of the tub.  Try and swipe my goes, lick my shoulder.  A few times he's tried to turn around on the thinner part of the edge of the tub and that has not worked out well for him.  It ended up not working well for me either as I was stuck in the tub he was clawing his way out of!!  His favorite place is the top of our armoire.  And it is his place.  If we put our keys, a pen, change, anything like that up there, uh yeah, he will promptly knock it all off when he gets up there.  He also has another nasty favorite past time.  We always take drinks with us when we go to bed, a soda or a glass of tea.  I usually make sure I finish mine before I fall asleep or that it has a lid on it.  James is not always so wise, but he is learning.  Yep, Logan knows when a cup has something in it.  He can not resist.  I'll hear the cup start sliding in these little bitty nudges, then splash!  And he's just sitting there, pretty as can be, watching it spill.  They love to snuggle together, play together and get in trouble together.  They are very much a part of our home, family and lives now and I couldn't imagine life without them. 

I'm looking forward to a new year of stitching.  I'll have my goals/projects up soon.  Much, much fewer than last year.  I'm not making many personal ones.  We are having great difficulties with my son Tyler and I just don't know where that is going to lead.  All I can say is that I'm hoping we get his epilepsy stabilized soon and get him moved out.  He really needs to become responsible for himself and experience real life instead of being unpleasant, judging everyone else while he sits back and is supported by us while he plays his games, chats with his online friends and sleeps.  I'm finding a lot of strength in prayer and relaxation in stitching :)