I feel like a turtle!

Hello everyone! I feel like I have had my head buried in my shell for weeks now. LOL, I guess I really have. We had a fantastic Christmas season at the store. Instead of stitching at work, I was busy restocking inventory, wrapping presents, and oh yeah, ringing up sales. I was so consumed but it was a great feeling. God has really blessed us this year. On Dec. 31, we will complete our first Jan-Dec in our new location. What a difference a year makes.
Needless to say, I have not stitched for quite some time. I am currently trying to get the ooomph to work on my scissor fob exchange (due 1-31), my sewing set stitch a long (as of the first I will officially be behind an assignment), and my Mirabilia RR rotation (not sure when this is due but I don't care because it was an entire rotation late to the person before me). Oh and a Christmas gift for a friend that I never had time to do (don't even know what to stitch). I work on little bitty bits at a time, you know I can't stress myself LOL.
The new Vera B ships from the company on January 2 so I am busy at work making sure my current inventory is correct, what a mess it is from Christmas. Then I have to load all of the bags that are coming into my inventory so that when they get here all I have to do is put in my counts and they can go out with no delay. New MN gets here I think in February. I already have a mini market, a trade show, an EGA regional seminar, a MN regional seminar and convention planned for trips next year.
It is shaping up to be a year of travel.
Ok, enough chatter. I hope everyone had a fantastic Merry Christmas.
Be safe and have a Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas

Just a quick note to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Beatrice, The Baking Elf

Meet Beatrice! She is by Fanci That, one of the elves. I finished Caleb up into a standup and will do Beatrice too. I already have the fabric that I want in mind. Hobby Lobby has a pink and green harlequin print that I really think will be cute. I stitched her on some of the fabric that I got for my birthday.

I have nothing to stitch right now. Hahaha, not really. My ornament is done, two elves are done, I am caught up on the RR. I pulled the threads today for And a Forest Grew. I will need to serge the edges and then get my threads situated. My friend Theresa gave me a boatload of DMC earlier in the year and I was able to get most of my threads out of that, saving me lots of dollars. There must be 100 threads listed for that pattern. So, Thanks again Theresa!

Lunch is ready so I think while I have a break I am going to eat. Things are starting to pop here at the shop.

Have a good stitching afternoon.

While I Darn

This is my latest installment on the While I Darn SAL. I am really enjoying stitching this this way. Our "assignment" is very little sections every 15 days. It is definitely manageable. My color key didn't have the symbols for the little girls dress so I just winged it. I don't think it came out too bad.

Weekend Happenings

Let's see.....Friday mom and I went shopping. I got some new clothes out of the deal. Saturday work, home, watched the game. I know, I really really did. YAY LSU! (For those that don't know, I went to La Tech, not LSU but since I live in Baton Rouge and they are winning, I sorta have to support them right now.) Sunday, went to Church, came home took a nap, just got back from the theatre. Mom and I went to go see CATS tonight. Do you ever wonder about strange things? Tonight as we were leaving the theatre going to the parking garage we passed the back door and the cast parking. They already had all of the trucks engines started and the busses were in place. They were loading some of the props. The audience probably was not even out yet. It made me wonder what it would be like to live like that, travelling from city to city, not knowing where you are. Do they all ride on the same bus? Do they have different busses for different things? I read they have a massage therapist with them so when they want a massage do they go to the massage bus? Where do they eat? I know, wierd. I would never want to live like that but wouldn't it be neat to have the inside scoop.
Tomorrow I get my Christmas present, the plumber is coming to fix my toilet. I did finish my ornament for the EGA party next weekend and mom finished Caleb into a standup for me. Off to bed. The plumber will be here early in the morning.

Diane's RR

This is my rotation on Diane's Mira RR. It is a cameo of Fairy Idyll. I think she turned out pretty.

A Post of Its Own

This was my birthday present from Theresa and Daphne. I love it! It is so cute and teeny tiny. Thanks ya'll.

Caleb and other stuff

So, here is Caleb the Candy Elf. The fabric is what I will use to back him. I am going to try making a stand up. I haven't ever done that before but it can't be that hard.

This has been a crazy few weeks. My birthday was nice. I got another present from my friends Theresa and Daphne that I will try to get a picture of this weekend. It is so cute, I love it.

LSU lost yesterday. That was sad. They have had a really good season. I am not a fan but how they play affects the entire city. This is definitely a football town.

Mom and I got up and went Black Friday shopping yesterday. I can't believe she actually went with me. We just went to Target and were back home by about 6:30. Maybe next year we can go longer. The thing is, we have to be at work for 10 so we can't stay gone too long.

Thanksgiving was OK. Mom and I went to 2 movies. We don't like to stay at home too much. My grandmother has forgotten that she ever made dressing and candied yams so she couldn't help my mom. That was sad. She never taught anyone how to make Thanksgiving so we just had to sorta guess at the recipes. It came out OK. I really need to learn how to do it now that my mom sorta knows how, especially the yams. Yummy! No mashed sweet potato casserole with marshmallows for me, give me candied yams any day.

Last week in town there was an apartment complex that burned down. It affected over 200 people. There is one family that the husband was burned very badly. They are friends of a friend. This is very near and dear to me. You see, you may not know it but, Dec 24 of 1990, my apartment burned to the ground. I was 21 years old, living in my first apartment. I lost everything I owned. My mom and I went shopping for this family the night before Thanksgiving and got some stuff. If anyone wants to help contribute to this family please contact me. I wish I could help them all but unfortunately I can't. We have so much that we had to do something. It just so happened that I was put in touch with one of them.

We were busy at the shop yesterday and as I write this I am hoping for another busy day today. I haven't picked up a needle in a while but hope to today. I am actually in the Christmas mood. That hasn't happened in a few years. I hope to actually put up my tree this year too.
Happy Stitching!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my 39th birthday. I don't foresee the day to be very eventful. It is just a regular work day. My mom has not said anything about going to eat dinner or anything. Let's see.....so far my grandmother gave me $10.00, Kaye gave me the Mirabilia November Fairy, and I got the first package of my birthday exchange. Kari sent me LHN's Curly Q Ewe, some fabric, and some sticky notes. Saturday I decided to start one of Fanci That Elves since I now had the fabric for it. I just have his hat to do and I will be done with him. Three people from the birthday exchange have emailed me and told me that I have packages on the way. Today is the observance of Veteran's day so there is no mail. I guess I won't get anything today LOL.

I am off to work now. Have a great day!

Edited to add: Jann just came by for a birthday surprise. She brought me lunch and a cake from Baum's bakery. They even put my name on it! My mom brought me some pink roses and a mini cake and a card. I finished Caleb the Candy Elf but he can't come play until later. Today I want everyone to know it is my birthday LOL

2:39- My brother just called to wish me a HB. Amazing, just amazing. I can't believe he actually called me the day of. Usually he doesn't tell me until closer to Thanksgiving.

I got from Annette: Country Cottage Gingerbread House and Crescent Colors
From Ilona I got some fabric, threads, and needles
Autumn: Friends kit from Sweetheart Tree

More Motorcycles

Today I saw more motorcycles but these weren't so happy. Saturday night there was a horrible accident in town where 4 senior boys were killed and 2 more were injured. Evidently they had been drinking and were involved in a hit and run accident and they fled the scene, turned their lights off on the truck, then when they went around the corner they hit the ditch. Three were killed instantly and the 4th was killed by the time he got to the hospital. The funerals were today. They were all four held together at a local Church. My store just happens to sit on the same road as the Church and the cemetary and right in the middle of the two. It was a very somber day around town. When the funerals were over there were tons of motorcycles and cars, cars, and more cars. They closed down the road for the procession to the cemetary. Three of the boys were buried there and the other one was buried at a Church a little further down the road. The word is there were more than 1000 people at the funeral. This is a very small town and when something like this happens, it affects everyone. Enough sadness for today!

Excitement in the little town!

Before I get to that, yes, I am home yet again. I had a really nice trip. I will have to say that Vera Bradley treated us very well. We had a constant supply of food, good food, not skimpy. They produced a special bag for us in one of the new patterns that you can't order, they gave us unlimited access to these cute note pads and some mints they are doing for breast cancer next year. It was so nice to talk to Vera retailers from other parts of the country. Oh and what a surprise, Pat Miller who is one of the founders of the company ate breakfast with my mom and I on Monday morning. I felt really special. The owners mixed and mingled and didn't sit secluded afraid to talk to anyone.

So on to the excitement. For those of you who don't know where I work, it is a little town right outside of Baton Rouge. Not much goes on here but when it does it is a big deal. Yesterday the Vietnam Wall reproduction travelled through on the way to it's next stop. There were supposed to be about 3000 motorcycles but I don't think there were near that many. I took some pictures of the todo. It doesn't look that impressive when looking at the pictures but it really was sorta neat.




I took more pictures but when I posted them you couldn't really see. I can tell what they are. There were some really neat motorcycles. Did I say that already? Anyway, this is a picture of the truck they were escorting.

Ok, off to work now. Have a great day!

WIDSS Parts 2 and 3

This post is just to serve as a record that I completed parts 2 and 3.
Off to Atlanta tomorrow. Have a great day!

Another One Down!

I just now finished my current installment of the Mira RR. I chose to stitch Villa Mirabilia. This isn't the best picture but it will do.

I am trying to destress myself some. I finally had to go on blood pressure meds. I have been flirting with high blood pressure for a while now but it finally got me. With heart disease coming at me from both my parents families, I guess it really isn't something I need to play with.

I am off for another trip this weekend. This will be my 3rd weekend trip in 4 weeks. No wonder I am stressed LOL. Mom and I are off to Atlanta to preview the new spring line for Vera Bradley. I have already been studying my book so I am pretty much ready to place my order. It will just be a place to touch and feel the new stuff and I think we get a freebie bag for going. My friend did anyway.

I don't know if I will have time to post again before the weekend but if not, have a great one. I hope to do some stitching. I am starting a new needlepoint project for EGA.

Back from the Beach!

Oh man, I really didn't want to come home today. Thursday after work some friends and I headed out of reality for a short jaunt to the beach. We stopped on the way for dinner and got there and unloaded by midnight. Friday morning we got up for some quality stitching time. Lunchtime came and we had no food so we had to go out. Well, we got distracted shopping and didn't come home until after supper. We found this great restuarant a short distance from our condo that had the best burgers. There was a marina there and it was so nice to see the charters come in and enjoy the water. When we finally made it back to the condo we had some more stitch time. We finally were all in bed around 2 I guess. Saturday morning we got up and headed for Pensacola for shopping there. We went to Joann's and to Needle Delights. We got home from there around 11, then stitched and looked at our treasures. All I bought was canvas and threads to make my EGA Christmas exchange ornament. This morning we got up and left the condo and came home. I got back to BR around 6. I wish we had more time to just sit but we did OK. The weather was absolutely beautiful. Our condo was right on the beach and we could sit and look at the water all day if we wanted to. We usually kept the screen doors open so we could hear the waves crashing. All in all we had a fantastic weekend.

The Scent of Old Roses

This is The Scent of Old Roses by Mirabilia. She is done on Picture This Plus Cherub fabric. I did this for the contest on the Mirabilia board. I way underestimated the time it would take me to finish this. I have been working on her since Sept. 1. It took me FOREVER to put all those beads on. I have never done a Mirabilia with so many beads! Anyway, I think she came out pretty.
One more stitching thing to mark off my list. Today I will start my current rotation of the Mirabilia RR. It is due on the 29th of this month. I still have to do my WIDSS and my Mill Hill Picket Fence for Nov, and start this new mystery sampler that I haven't even picked out threads or fabric for. I just might get it all done by the first.
Have a great day!

Squash Queen Contest Winning Prize

Finally I am following through with a promise! I am so so sorry that it took me so long. As you read in my last post, I am sort of overwhelmed right now. This is my prize from Diane's "Guess the Squash" contest. Look how it was wrapped! How lovely. It is a magnet so it is proudly displayed on my refrigerator. Thank you so much Diane for the time you put into stitching this for me.

Traffic Jam

I am having a traffic jam in my brain! I have so many things I want to do. There are so many new projects going and new patterns out that I want to start. I promised ya'll a photo of my squash contest win that I still haven't posted. I need to do things like balance the checkbook, etc. I need to do some EGA paperwork, I am the treasurer after all! I got in 16 boxes of Christmas products at the store today, a box of a Vera promo, and an order of Christmas books. All of that has to be priced and put out. Tomorrow night I have to go pick up another order that will have to be priced and put out. Saturday is the Governor's election. I will have to work that which means up at 4:30 and at the polls until 9 pm. I am still stitching away on The Scent of Old Roses. That needs to be and will be finished probably by the end of the weekend. I still have to pick the pattern and stitch my next installment on the Mirabilia RR. I have about a week to do that. I need to do the next assignment in my Spanish SAL by Nov 1st. Ok What else???? I think that is it for right now. Oh I need to pay on my EGA Seminar balance. I think that has to be in by Nov 15. Maybe sooner, I don't know. I am sorta stalled out on The Scent of Old Roses but am pushing through to the finish. Does anyone else ever get like this? I can't focus on anything but finishing this.

There was an interesting question posed as I was blog reading the other day. The question was..Why do you stitch? For the process or the finish? Well I truly truly stitch for both. I love the process of the stitch, I love challenging myself with new stitches and combinations of stitches. I love to see a piece come together. I love to see it forming into something. It is also a great feeling of accomplishment when it is all done and I can stand back and look at what I have created. I think it is amazing some of the things that I can do with a needle and thread (I am not discounting anything that anyone else does). I love the challenge of hard pieces but also love the simplicity of the easy ones too. How about you?

Have a great evening. I am off to stitch some more. Hopefully aoon you will have those pictures that I promised.

Weekend Update

Wow, what a weekend I have just had. Me and my friend Kaye went to a cross stitching retreat just outside of Mobile, Al. It was so nice to get away from home for a few hours (which is literally how it felt!). We left Friday and arrived there around 4:30. After dinner, the stitching room was opened. It was great to meet up with old friends and meet new people and even connect a few names floating around with faces. On Saturday night there was a stitching fair contest. I had taken my Chatelaine Leporello to enter. Well, guess what??? I won first place. I was given a generous gift certificate to use at the boutique at the retreat. Wow! I was not expecting that. When I got home today I also had another surprise in my mail box. I could not for the life of me figure out this address. When I opened it, I had a surprise from Diane for my winning the squash contest. I will post pictures of that later because I don't have photo access from my camera on this computer. Well, it has been a long, short, jampacked weekend with lots of fun memories to cherish. I am off to rest up for reality tomorrow.

No pictures

My camera needs a new battery so I have no update pictures. I have managed to do quite a bit on The Scent of Old Roses. I am down to having just her skirt left to do. I still haven't started my current rotation of my round robin. I have until the 29th to do it so I am not real worried.
Everyone have fun this weekend and enjoy the beautiful weather we are having.

Happy Monday!

These are not the greatest pictures but, this is my Sweetheart Tree Round Robin. It finally made it home. I had to do the pictures in two installments but it is all on one piece of fabric. I think it came out perfect. I had used a picture I found on someone's blog as my inspiration. I wanted something bright and colorful.

I had a wonderful weekend. I didn't do much but it was nice. I worked Saturday then weeded my front flower bed, then just relaxed. Sunday I went to church. I went to a new Sunday School class. It was OK. I used to be in that class but for some reason left. It was good to be back. Sunday after church I picked up the weeds that I had pulled out and then just relaxed for the rest of the day. I did manage to finish my October Mill Hill Picket Fence.

Well, I am off to work some. It is a beautiful day here.

Miss Squash Queen

Haha! Diane crowned me the Squash Queen last week because I correctly guessed the number of squash she picked from her garden this summer. Actually, she is the Squash Queen. They are gorgeous. It secretly made me want to grow my own garden.

I have been stitching some. I have one more panel to October's Mill Hill Picket Fence. I will be so glad to get those all done. I just have November, December, and February left. I have already done February's once but it was my mom's birthday a few years back so I gave it to her.

I have also been reading lots. I went to the bookstore on Sunday evening and came home with The Glass Castle (read that Sunday night) and Can't Wait to Get to Heaven (read that one Monday and Tuesday nights). I was desperate so I thought I remembered my friend Daphne having Water for Elephants so she loaned that to me today. I am about a fourth of the way through it already. I get so mad at myself because I get involved in these books and I can't get enough. I am tired of romance and mystery so I decided to follow the bestseller list for a while.

I also found out today that my Sunday School class at church dissolved Sunday. No warning, just is no longer. My mom wants to take a leave of absence from teaching her class to come and grow my class. I don't know about that.

Also, on the life front, things have calmed down tremendously. I also started trying to take care of myself a little more and everything together has helped. I have one more huge stressful thing to take care of and that should be over by the end of the year. That one is sort of a constant but I am trying to take baby steps. But, anyway, all the family situation is soooooo much better.

Smokin'!

This is The Scent of Old Roses by Mirabilia. I wanted to participate in the contest they are having on the Mirabilia board but, didn't want a huge piece to have to rush through. I found this pattern and really liked her so this is the one I chose. I started her last Saturday after I finished QOF. I have done this in a little more than a week. She is stitching up really fast. From the chart, she looks like she would be much bigger than she is.

Happy Birthday to me. Haha, it isn't even close to my birthday yet but my friend Kaye already gave me my present. Since I am a November baby, Kaye bought me the November Topaz Fairy from Mirabilia. Thanks Kaye! Maybe just maybe I will do her next, I don't make any promises though.

Other than stitching, there hasn't been much else going on. Things are finally getting back to normal. We have been really busy at the shop (a very good thing!) and we are getting ready for Christmas. October and November will be very busy months.

She's Done!

Here she is making her debut. Mirabilia Queen of Freedom. I have no idea what fabric this is stitched on but I think it was a good choice.

Stitchy Pictures

This picture is of my Mill Hill Picket Fence for September. I am so glad to finally be finishing these. I have the ones for the rest of the year to finish but will hopefully do those as the months come around.
This picture is of my current progress on Queen of Freedom by Mirabilia. I have finished the bottom of her dress except for the beads and the Kreinik. I don't know if I will be able to finish this any time soon or not because I am getting a bad case of startitis, which leads me to my next picture.
My next project is The Scent of Old Roses on Cherub PTP fabric. It was the only fabric I had that I thought would be suitable but I think it will do OK.

The Burial Day

This will be all about my aunt's burial so....fair warning.

Wow what an interesting day today was. First of all, crazy lady (my cousins "girlfriend") didn't show up. My cousin was dressed in blue jeans and a camo shirt for his mother's burial. We arrived at the funeral home for the family viewing of the body. My aunt looked horrible. I guess it could be attributed to the fact that she was sick, the funeral home didn't put any makeup on her, or maybe the fact that one day she was at the funeral home they didn't have power. I was sorta creeped out and didn't really look at her. I did the same thing at my dad's funeral though he looked really good. Once I looked, I was good to go. The funeral home was just the family although a good friend of my cousins who was to be a pall bearer came with him. We are talking poverty here. I got really sad because I realized that my cousin is left on this earth all by himself. He does have 2 uncles, me and my mom and brother and then his adopted dad and his real dad but, he and his mom were together 24/7. His mom was his life and he was her life. He was just this lost soul. So off to the cemetary. The public was invited there. My aunt didn't want a funeral. This son is mentally ill and she didn't think he would be able to handle it. Well, we pull up and nobody is there and there are 3 little flower arrangements, one from my other brother, one from some other cousins and one from a family friend. There were a few people that trickled in but it was just so sad. How awful to live your life and only have a handful of people to mourn your death. My cousin kept crying and crying but at the end he held it together pretty good. When we finished he put the flowers in the back of his truck and drove off, just like he was riding around town on any normal day. I kept comparing it to my dad's funeral which was a big mistake. First of all my dad's funeral was at the church there were so many people (my dad was a school teacher, owned a business in town, and played the organ at my church). The church was packed that day, my dad looked great, there were tons and tons of plants and flowers, my dad's casket was gorgeous (my aunt's had to be special made she was so big and it ended up being just a flat top square box casket), the flowers were brought home by the funeral home. There were just a lot of differences. I wasn't going to go but in the end, I am glad I did. I would have hated to have regretted not going.

There were some things that happened to that were not related to all that. First of all, at the funeral home, this really nice looking guy came in. Well, he is a first cousin that I never even knew I had. Seems that my uncle was married once before and this is a son that he had that he never claimed. Today was the first day that he had ever introduced him as his son. I just met this guys mother not too long ago when I met his sisters that were also new cousins to me. I know, how can you have cousins that you don't know. Then when we were at the cemetary, my brother said "Gee, who are those people buried there? They have our last name" Me: "Ummm, grandpapa and granny LOL". It has been so long since either one of us have been there that we didn't even know it was our grandparents. It was really funny.

So all in all it was a good day. Right now, I am pretty emotionally spent. I am really glad that everything is over. I have peace that my aunt knew about crazy woman and that is why she called us to get her money. I also found out that crazy woman ran up my cousins credit cards and put him in a financial situation and then skipped town for 2 years, then when my aunt got sick, here she came running back. She (crazy woman) was furious at us for "stealing" the money. I think my aunt knew very well why she came running back and trusted us to take care of everything to protect her son. I know that last Saturday night there was beautiful music when she crossed through Heaven's gates and my daddy was there with open arms to receive her.

Aunt Annie and Lilly

Introducing Lilly. Isn't she so cute? I think she is so delicate and feminine. This wouldn't be a pattern that I would choose to stitch for myself but I do like how she turned out. This is on Leigh's Round Robin. I have a few more stitches to add to her but basically she is finished.




On the family front, my aunt Annie died Saturday. I think I have mentioned her before. She was my dad's sister. They both died when they were 63. I think that is so strange. I am so glad she is now out of her misery. She did not live a very peaceful life. She has a son that is mentally unstable and there was always bickering and fighting. I am just glad that now that part is all over.

Back to stitching on my Queen of Freedom tomorrow...yippee!
Have a great day!

I interrupt my normally scheduled programming

to bring you this....This is the WIP of the latest round of the Mirabilia Round Robin. I love the color of this fabric but I don't like the fabric. Anyway, I am almost finished with this fairy. I should be done either tomorrow or Thursday if I can get in some good stitching time. I think she will turn out just fine. I will post a picture when I finish. I am really missing Queen of Freedom and can't wait to get back to her.
Have a great day!

Queen of Freedom

I finally broke down to post a WIP picture of Queen of Freedom. She is coming along nicely. I think I can probably finish her in a few weeks if I can work in some stitching time.

Have a great day!

Too Busy!

I need to apologize to all of my friends out in bloggerland. I know it has been a while since I updated. If you don't already know, my dad's sister is dying and I have been given a huge responsibility with her impending death. I am exhausted physically and emotionally. The latest is that she told my cousin that she would be dying today. If God is ready for her she just might. On a funny note, she told me that when she gets to heaven she is going to find my daddy and tell him he left a brat (that would be me) down here on earth.

Carol, Happy Birthday. I am sorry that I missed it.
Karen and Kaye, if I miss yours please forgive me but I hope you have great birthdays too.

I have been stitching some. I am pushing on Queen of Freedom. Strange but, it reminds me of my dad. He died July 1st and the last service he played at the church was the patriotic one the day he died. With all of the death surrounding me right now, that piece reminds me of him, which gives me the comfort I need at this time.

My Mirabilia RR is still missing. The post office did find it but the package was damaged. We are still waiting on word as to whether or not the actual stitched piece was damaged.

I will update on everything when I get a chance.

Ice Cream Sundae

This is my latest finish. It was a really quick stitch. It is Ice Cream Sundae by Country Cottage. I substituted the light green for a DMC color that I already had. The fabric is mystery fabric. I got it out of my fabric bin. sorry for the wrinkly photo.

Where is my Needle????
It appears that I have lost my very favorite needle. I went to visit a friend in the hospital the other night and pulled out my stitching while I was there. Evidently my needle flew off of my project. I do remember my fibers getting caught and I guess the needle got pulled out. Why was this needle more special than any other needle? This needle was a $5.00 Mardina needle. It absolutely was my favorite. I had less trouble threading it with its teeny tiny eye than I do a regular needle. If anyone has one they don't want because they don't like it you can sure pass it on to me!

I can't seem to put a title on this post but just in case it is "Saturday Stuff!"

My week has been pretty hectic.

First of all on Tuesday evening my mom came home. They missed the plane in Houston so had to take a later flight. They finally made it home around 10 ish and we got to the house around 11.

Then on to Wednesday. I stayed in my pajamas forever just laying around the house. I didn't feel like doing anything! I was so tired. In the afternoon me, my friend Jann and her husband went to the movies to see Ratatouille. It was OK. I know it was a Disney movie but seemed more childish than most. Oh gosh, I forgot my friend Theresa went too. How could I forget a friend like that?? Then my mom and I went to eat at the Piccadilly after. I was going to go to my friend Karen's camp after the movie but when we got out it was raining and it was getting late and I had to work the next day.

So on to Thursday. The day was good and bumping along just fine until that evening. I got off a whole 10 minutes early and went home to settle in to a nice evening of stitching when there was a knock at my door. My grandmother had walked over and said that her pacemaker had stopped working. Well, I called my mom and she ended up taking her to the hospital to get it checked out. I was a little worried (more on that later) but knew that if she was in the hospital they could check her out. She turned out OK and everything checked out good. Her blood pressure was a little on the high side but I think she had worked herself up.

The reason why I was worried is because my family has a July curse. Everyone that has died in my family has died in the month of July therefore, I hate to see it coming. That is a shame because it is such a good month.

Friday was a busy day at the store. I love days like that but it wears me out. My friend Kaye was in the hospital for some med testing so Karen and I went to see her Friday night. When I came home I made some cookies but something happened to them. I am not sure if it was the brown sugar, the flour, or the baking soda. They don't seem to taste sweet and the mix was too dry and they crumble. I love to bake but am not very good at knowing what to do to fix the problem.

Today I hope we are busy too. I don't have any plans for the afternoon when I get off. I started Ice Cream Sampler by Country Cottage. I may just go home and stitch....imagine that!

Have a great weekend.

Anyone, Anyone??

For some time now I have been getting the travel bug. If anyone wants to go anywhere just let me know. I am going to take some time off this fall. Not a long time, maybe just some long weekends.

My mom comes home tonight Yay!! I know she drives me crazy sometimes but she has been gone 2 weeks now and there is lots to catch up on.

I found out my dad's sister has been diagnosed with lung cancer that has now spread to her brain. More on that later when I get more information.

Cinderella, I mean Sleeping Beauty

She is done!
This is the latest installment of the Mirabilia RR. Did you see that new Mirabilia? I do like her and since I am a November baby I think I will have to get her just because.
Now, what do I work on next or do I want to start something new? No, I don't want to do Queen of Freedom or Lily of the Valley.

Memorable Day

Today is the anniversary date of my dad's death. It is 6 years now. I am not sad today just reflective.
I just got back from picking up some new luggage that we sell in our store. It was delivered to my rep's house so I went to pick out what I wanted.
My uncle came to visit my grandmother today so I think we are fixing to go to eat lunch somewhere. My mom still isn't back yet.....3 more days. I am glad she is off having fun.

No Pictures

Well, I have been stitching some. I have just one motif before I finish the current installment of the Drawn Thread, Sampler of Stitches, JKL.
My mom took the camera with her on her big adventure. She and a friend are taking an extended vacation cruise/land tour to Alaska. I did also manage to stitch her and her friend some cruise pass pockets to wear around the neck on the ship. They turned out so cute. I will post mom's when she gets home, if it makes it back. LOL
Have a great weekend!

Happy Father's Day!

Me and Dad 1969.


Dad. Not sure when this was taken but this is exactly what he looked like.
I miss my daddy!

GHI

Done!

Whole thing so far.

How Cute Is This???

I was visiting blogs the other day and came across Kim's blog where she was having a contest for one of her QSnap Huggers. Well, I entered and guess what??? I won!!!! Isn't this cute? She even let me pick out my own fabric. I tested it out last night and it was just the neatest thing. If you want one, Kim has an entire album of fabric that you can choose from and she has very reasonable prices. Thanks Kim!


This is my new needle minder from Kelmscot. My friend gave this to me for some things that I had recently helped her with. Wasn't that nice? I love it. I think it is so pretty. I almost hate to use it.

I am also happy to report that my grandmother made it through surgery with flying colors. In fact, she did so well that the doctor let her come home the night of surgery. She is not a very good patient. She will not do what the doctor said. She won't keep on her sling and keeps waving her arm in the air all over the place. Silly Mamaw!

Quick Update

No stitching news today. Honestly I haven't picked up a needle since I finished the round robin. Oh wait, that isn't true. Last night I did work a bit on the Chinese Plaid needlecase. Remember that?

Just a quick mention that today would have been my parents 49th wedding anniversary. My mom has been on the sad side today.
That was paired with a trip to the dr today for my grandmother. The diagnosis: her pacemaker must be changed immediately. It can not even wait a week. So, early next week will be the procedure. Please keep my family in your prayers. My grandmother turned 88 in March.
My personal life if rather chaotic as I am sure yours is as well. I tend to bottle it all up then explode all at once. While my grandmother is hopefully recuperating, my mom will be getting ready to go to Alaska for 15 days. Some grand cruise/land adventure that she is going on and leaving me here.

2 Down, and I Lost Track

This is my current rotation of the Mirabilia RR that I am in. I started it right when I got it because I have a tendancy to procrastinate. It really does feel good to be done with it. I stitched the flowers off of the Spring Queen pattern. Deb had chosen a stitcher's choice theme. I think they are really pretty.
Speaking of Mirabilia, I noticed that she has 2 new patterns out today. I like these couture fairies but, if I ever stitch them, I think I will leave off the wings.

I have not gotten any more stitching done. I have been really really sick since coming home from Atlanta. I do fell a little better but need to take it easy for a while. Maybe I will feel like stitching some tonight.

Trip Recap

Well, I am back. My trip to Atlanta was pretty fun. This will be a pretty boring post for those not interested. I didn't stitch much but did manage to almost finish the current rotation of the Mirabilia RR that I am working on.

Sunday we left BR at around 6 AM. The drive wasn't too bad. We stopped in Montgomery, AL for lunch at the Piccadilly. It was really neat. It was an all you can eat buffet. We arrived in Atlanta around 3:30 Atlanta time. We stayed at the Hyatt in downtown Atlanta. We got our luggage into the room and immediately left to go downstairs to register for Convention. We also had time to buy some souviners. I got 2 t-shirts, the cutest makeup bag, and some luggage tags in the shape of a bottle of nail polish. They would only be neato to me because they all say Merle Norman on them. I later went back and got a pin that is a mirror, lipstick, and something else, I can't remember. I haven't even looked at it since I bought it. Sunday night mom and I went to eat at this place called Fire of Brazil. That was really neat. If you haven't ever been to a Brazillian steak house and you like meat, I would really recommend the experience. Be sure and take lots of money when you go as it is rather pricey.

Monday we got up and just went to 2 meetings, then we went to eat a burger with our friends from D'ville. Monday afternoon we took a nap then had our opening banquet Monday night. The best part about that was the miniature Creme' Brulee's they had for us. I will have to say that MN did good. The band was Andy Child's. It was way too loud for my taste and there was no place to sit down so you had to eat standing up. I didn't last too long there. I pretty much ate and then went back to the room.

Tuesday was our general session meeting day. We met from 8:30 until around 1. We got some good new products. I tried the new eyeliner today and even after I took my makeup off tonight, it was still there. Then we went to DQ for chocolate dipped cones. The afternoon was spent in breakout meetings. Tuesday night we went to Steak and Ale to eat. We got a workout. The restuarant was down this huge hill that we had to walk back up after eating. We walked everywhere downtown around our hotel. We never called for our car or used a taxi.

Wednesday we had breakout sessions again pretty much all day until around 3. We had to get all of our orders in for the rest of the year on new products, fall, and Christmas, and then any promotional items. That was pretty taxing. I made the mistake of looking at the total and nearly had a stroke. Then we took a nap again and went to our entertainment that night. This year it was the Temptations. They were great! They sang and danced for 2 solid hours. They never stopped. One of the members is an original member of the band, Otis Williams maybe. Dinner was our typical banquet food of steak, potatoes and veggies. They usually traditionally have baked alaska for dessert but this year we had a medley of desserts: flan, whipped cream stuff with some choco shavings, a fruit tart and something else I can't name. Our owner died a few years ago and his son who took over the company is slowly making some pretty radical changes.

Thursday we got up at 4 Atlanta time, that's right 3AM BR time. We called the bellman and the car and when we got to the motor lobby our car was there. We left around 4:45. Well, I was so sick. I got sick before we left Atlanta. Mom drove all the way home. We got to BR around 12:30. I went straight to bed. That afternoon I did manage to get my suitcase unpacked. I still haven't washed though and I need to take my formal to the cleaners.
Wednesday I got a call that my friend Jann's dad had passed away. I was too sick to go to the funeral home on Thursday night but was able to make the funeral today. I have felt better today until tonight. I just have a cold but I am miserable. I sorta figured I was getting sick before I left but all the going going got to me I guess.So that is where I have been today. I went to the funeral this morning then back to work. Tomorrow is a blood drive in the shopping center and we are having a sidewalk sale of sorts so it ought to be a busy day. Vera Bradley is also having a national sale on all discontinued stock from June 7-10 so I am getting my mailer ready for that too.
So now I am tired and am headed for bed. Tomorrow will be busy. Thank goodness I get off at 3 and then have a long Memorial day weekend. Yes, we are actually closing. Right! Whatcha want to bet either me or mom or both go open?

On The Road Again!

My friends had a good laugh the other night that for someone who never goes anywhere, I sure have been travelling a lot this year. Sunday mom and I are off to Atlanta for our annual convention with our business. It will be a packed week, seeing all the new products and placing our orders for the rest of the year.

In stitching news, I have recently acquired some new stash. I was able to get some good deals from Stitching Bits and Bobs. I didn't spend any money though. I had gotten a gift certificate from my secret stitcher.

I have decided to sell my Little House Needleworks Thread Gathering kit. If anyone is interested please let me know.

Everyone have a fantastic week and I will see you when I get back.

One Down, Eight To Go

I finished Kaye's Mirabilia RR. I think she turned out really cute. I love the face on this one. It is April's Blue Diamond fairy. Kaye chose to do all fairies on her RR. In the middle she is stitching Titania. I still have to sign it but to just have this done is a huge accomplishment. Now I need to start planning the next one so I don't wait until the last minute. The next month will be pretty busy for me with Convention, and business in the store for Mother's Day and graduation.
I have stitching tonight at the LNS so I will have to find something to stitch on there. I may not stay long. My friend Theresa has me on this new diet and eating plan. I am trying to eat at home more and go exercise even when I don't feel like it. I do feel better when I go and I can sleep better too.

Did Big Bird Die Here???

Hi folks. I have been busy with life and just haven't had anything exciting to post about. This weekend was the ladies tea at my church at which I hosted a table. It was nice but I thought the speaker talked for waaayyy too long. I put some pictures in. The big bird yellow table was mine. I took pictures of some of the tables that I liked and some I didn't like but wanted to give you an idea of the overall idea. Each person can decorate however they want to. I am almost finished with Kaye's Mirabilia RR. I just have to put the beads on it. Maybe I can post that tomorrow.

Hello, You Are Caller Number 10!

Yesterday I won a $50.00 gift certificate to Bistro Byronz from the local radio station. I can't wait. I used to go there all the time when they were in a different location. They had the best shrimp and corn soup and homeade potato chips. Yummy!

On the stitching front, I have been working on Kaye's Mira RR. I just have the wings left but need to pick up some Kreinik.
I finally heard from my secret sister. I got a gift certificate from Stitching Bits and Bobs. I think I will wait for the next sale to use it.

I am on my way out of town within the next hour. I will be back Friday so it is just a short trip. Mom and I are going to Memphis for a computer class. Our company is implementing a new POS program and you have to go to class to get the disk.

Have a great week!

Sweet Little Bird

I started this last night. I think this will be my Monday project. I may end up with a project for every night except knowing myself, if I have to skip a night, I will be aggravated that I didn't get to stitch on chosen project. LOL, We will see how it goes. I have no idea what fabric this is on but it is a real pretty avocadoey (made up word) green. The pattern is Sweet Bird by Midsummer Night Designs.

What's Next?

I made lots of stitching progress this weekend. These are pictures of two ornaments I finished stitching. The LNS is doing this 13 days of Christmas ornaments from market way back in 1999. These are day 1 and day 3. I am modifying them a bit. On the day 3 I didn't stitch the big number 3. On the day 2 one I think I will be making some changes as well.



This is a picture of Kathy's STRR. I only stitched a few bands at the bottom but, think what I did added to the piece. She is running out of room and there is still one other person to stitch and then she wants to stitch something along the bottom. What you see of the fabric on the bottom is all there is.
This heart was from Shannon's STRR. This was so fun to stitch. It was the first one I took out of the package and said "Oh, how cute!" so I had to stitch it. This STRR has gone really fast. I think I only have one or two left to stitch and I will be done.
I also finished another huge project that I have been working on for a while.
Now, the big dilemma. What do I stitch next? I have only one more STRR and my Mirabilia RR to work on as far as obligation stitching. I have finished all of my other things that have been hanging over my head. I can't decide whether to start something new or whether to work on a UFO. I looked through my stuff last night and nothing is really calling my name. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel sort of. I have been on a major not buying stash spree for a while now and am actually making headway with the stash that I have. Not that I will ever get it all stitched but I can see myself stitching all that I have that I want to stitch in probably the next 1 to 2 years. I know all this is crazy but when I look at my cross stitch stuff I see all the money I have tied up in it and about a year ago decided to do something about it. I can't just collect stash with no intentions of ever stitching it so I went on a mission to get it stitched. Finished, well that is another story.

It is a beautiful day here in south Louisiana. It is as April should be. It is sunshiney and slightly cool.
I have a party to go to tonight. I decided to host a table at the tea at my church next month so tonight is a tea tasting tea for the hostesses. I am also expecting about 10 boxes of Vera Bradley any minute now so that will keep me busy most of the afternoon.
I hope you have a great day!

I've Got Mail!

These are pictures from my mail yesterday. I got my Spring exchange package from Jen. I LOVE it! It came at a good time. I was getting pretty aggravated that I haven't gotten anything from my secret sister since the beginning of February. This really made up for it. She also included some needles, a candle, and a magnet for parking my needle. It is really cute, a heart with some flowers.
I also got 3 round robins from Dani. They should not take very long to do. One of them is Autumn's so as soon as I finish it, it will go home.

Quaker Garden

I finished Quaker Garden by Blackbird Designs over the weekend. It is stitched on Garden State Java. I am not really a fan of Blackbird but for some reason this one appealed to me. I think I am going to quit using my iron. When I ironed it, I was using the steam and a big pool of water has now turned into a big water spot on my fabric. Every time I iron something it gets messed up. It will be OK once it is framed, you won't be able to see it at all. I guess I could mist the entire thing, adding more spots to give the fabric a mottled effect.

I was in a rather meloncholy mood last night. My good friends dad died and I had to go to the funeral home. I thought I would be OK but, when I got there, I realized that the visitation was in the same room that my dad was in. I got chills when I was standing in there. I know that is goofy but, that is me. Then since I was already on the upset side, I drove back to the cemetary behind the funeral home to check on my dad's grave. I cried of course. I think I don't ever go because I always get upset. This is the first time I had been in about 5 years and I pass it every day, several times. I didn't stay long because dark was approaching fast and a cemetary at dark is not really somewhere that I long to be.

I went to stitching last night at the LNS. That was nothing great with no new news. I left early to go do my funeral home stint and then met one of the ladies for dinner. At dinner, I ran into one of the girls that owns a children's shop in the shopping center my store is in. She confirmed that they are moving to this end by me but, in between them and me, there will be a donut shop. UGH! Not to mention all the donuts I will be eating, it is going to stink! I really want to email the landlord and encourage them to rent further down the shopping center, away from me.

No New News

Not much going on around here.
I went to Dallas market last week. I was going to take pictures of the landscape on the way there and in Dallas in case someone hasn't ever been there but, I dozed a lot of the way and when I remembered, it was dark. Maybe next time. We walked at market until we couldn't walk any more. Market consists of one building with 2 floors and one building with 15 floors. There are gift showrooms on almost every floor and this time apparel market coincided with gift market so we walked every floor every day. We ordered lots of good stuff so now it is just a matter of selling it when it comes in!
Thursday I went to the sampler group at the LNS. I had finished the parts of my project that I already had (that was in my last post) so I just visited. I was really too tired to stitch anyway.
Friday night I went to dinner and a movie with my friend with the flourescent green cast on her arm :) We went to see Reign Over Me. I never really thought about it but, I am sure there were some people that did react that way after 9/11.
Today I am working and am going to try to stitch some. I don't have any progress report from stitching. I only got to stitch one night on my trip. I took tons with me, I don't know why. I don't ever stitch away from home. One day I will learn my lesson that I don't have to take all that stuff.
Have a great day!

Small Accomplishment

This is what I have been stitching on lately. It is Drawn Thread's Sampler of Stitches. I chose this pattern to work on for our Thursday night stitch group. Obviously, I work on it more often than just one Thursday a month. I got tired of it looming overhead so decided to finish the charts that I had. It will be a bellpull when finished. The next pattern should come out in May.

I have been in a bit of a depression lately. The bottom line is that I am super tired. I am physically, emotionally, and mentally tired. I am feeling that I never get anything accomplished because there isn't enough hours in the day. I have also been feeling smothered by my mom. I work with my mom 6 days a week and on Sundays she usually wants to go shopping or something so, I end up being with her all day every day. For heaven's sake, I am 38 years old! I need some me time. Every time I come up with a trip to go on, if it is store related at all, she finagles a way to go with me. The only time I can go by myself is when someone else asks me to go with them somewhere. I am tired of always doing things with my mom or by myself. I guess I am just feeling sorry for myself and needed a pity party. Sorry for that little rant.

Merry Christmas Autumn!

As I said in my last post, I finally finished Autumn's Christmas present. It was supposed to be finished when I finished her mom's stand up way back in December. Well, this is what I did for her. It is Just Nan's Peacock Tapestry. Because I took so long, I treated her to a chart off of her wish list too.

Ouch!

I just burned my finger on my smoking needle LOL I had lots of stitching time this weekend.

This is Mill Hill Picket Fences July which I have had in my stash for about 3 years now. I decided the only way it was going to get done was just for me to do it. I did this all day Saturday. I just have to cut it out and put the wagon on the chicken and the feet on the chicken but, I will do that later.
This is the first part of Mill Hill's August Picket Fence. This was all I got done Sunday. I was so tired that after church I slept for almost 4 hours. It was a nice nap!
This is what I got done Friday night. It is new Drawn Thread sampler I am doing with some women at the LNS.
I also finished stitching Autumn's Christmas present and putting it together. I will show that picture later. I slipped and didn't get it done for Christmas, then I changed my mind midstream so then I had to start all over. I hope she hasn't already stitched the pattern that I did. Oh well, too late now. LOL