new sampler released

(A map of all the places Jane Austen lived and visited.)

OMG!!! I love samplers and by far my favorite designer is Tanya. Isn't she the best?!?! The Sampler Girl really knows how to capture history and literature and enhance it on linen with thread. Anyway, I just got word of her newly released sampler called On Travel With Jane Austen. It is amazing! Stunning is a much better word I think. Go check this sampler out and place that order...NOW!!! The motifs are sweet and the verses even sweeter. Go have a looksee!

movie preview ~ must see

You have to see this!!! Can we say E*D*W*A*R*D???

june 1

June 1st marks 3 years that my mother-in-law, Barb, passed away from cancer. She was diagnosed with breast cancer 9-10 years prior to her death. She was given 3-6 months at that time, but managed to beat the odds for 9 years. She was quite the fireball and one to be reckoned with.

After nine years of treatment and remission, and at the same time I married her son, she was diagnosed with lung cancer. For eleven months she fought so hard and for one brief month she beat it, but after numerous set backs and more cancerous pop-ups, it was unstoppable. She passed away in the comfort of her home which is where she wanted to be.

June 1st is a difficult day. One I'd like to forget but one I have to acknowledge. Aside from it being the day she passed, it follows my son's birthday - May 31. We try very hard to make his birthday a happy occasion and it is, but it's also a reminder that she isn't here to celebrate with us.

Here is dh and his mom at Christmas several years ago. They were very close and spoke nearly everyday at least once. You know mothers and their sons.

I love this picture. It's one of my favorites. This was our first Christmas with my future in-laws (of course we didn't know that at the time). This was Christmas 2001 and Barb was quite taken with Jose. She thought he was a well-mannered boy. She didn't have any grandchildren of her own and over time developed the relationship that would have played the part. My heart aches when I look at Cameron and realize she'll never know her very own grandchild and he will not know her. Ahh, she would have loved him so and been so impressed with her son (my dh) by his parenting skills. He's such a good daddy to Cameron.

We miss and think of Barb daily. Much love!

wow...thanks!

Thank you so much to everyone for leaving a comment and having input on my little dilemma. I agree with everyone about securing the knot and moving on. I'll use my star detailer to secure this bad boy under the more cooperative threads. I appreciate all your feedback. I am so thrilled that all of us agree on this issue. I can't count how many times I wondered what the majority vote would be, but I'm so thankful that my first thoughts were alike.

To answer the question of how Cameron got up there...it's really a mystery. I have no answer, only assumptions. This is where our dishwasher is located. He has a tendency to open the door, pull the drawers out and stand on the spokes to access the top (maybe he's Hawaiian and can run across hot coals). But I'm not for sure. He didn't use a chair, I know that. His father could have very well put him up there and I hope not because that's just giving this little monkey more bad ideas. Like he needs anymore.

Thanks Everyone! Talk soon! I'm off to stitch and secure that knot. Yay!

what would you do???

Okay, I'm taking a teeny-tiny poll here to find out what everyone else would do if they came upon THIS dilemma...

I turned her over and this is what I found. I'm pissed! I'm not going to lie. I know better than to go all this way without checking the back. Damn muscle relaxers!

This is the backside (obviously!). With that in mind, I don't know if I should frog all this or secure it and leave it. If I frog it that means having to start from the beginning of the green. Since this is the back, the thread is around 18" in length starting from the right side, continuing left and jumping down and traveling back the way I came. Make sense? Hmmm ~ I guess that's why they call this design the Traveling Stitcher. I didn't know they'd mean that literally...ahem! lol

Here's another close-up and angle of that stupid loop. I'm torn on what I should do. Should I securely leave it or rip it all out? Please, please, please...I want your thoughts.

On a lighter note, I can show you the front for progress' sake...and mine.

I am so enjoying this piece, even with that awful loop on the back. I have the top border to stitch and the verse underneath and I already have the case for it. I have this piece on a rod 'n roll so that's why the right hand house cannot be seen fully. I am lazy and still pissed.

WHAT'S HE DOIN' NOW!!!!!! (This is exactly what my grandmother would say if she were here today.) Cameron is nuts ~ that's all I can say about him right now!

Jose turns 12 on Sunday, May 31! We're celebrating his day on Saturday though. His Mamaw is coming into town from Canada tomorrow to spend his birthday with him. We'll be busy the next couple days. I can't believe my little boy is a tween - I'm in a bit of shock right now and I'm always overwhelmed around this time...but more so now than ever before. Thirteen is going to kill me, I believe.

Talk soon!

a little bird whispered in my ear...give away

Go to Carol's blog because she's having a fob give-away that's unique and with a "twist." ;-) I did!

Have fun!

RIT dye

I've never used RIT dye before to dye fabric and when I saw Daffy's tutorial, I had to give it a try. I was told I could find RIT dye in the laundry aisle at the grocery store. I checked there, but couldn't find it. Would you believe that my dh knew where it was?! It was located with the shoe polish. I was shocked at his knowledge. You know, after 8 years together (4 years married) he still amazes me. Sounds to me we still have promising years ahead of us. =) Anyway, I bought four different colors: Royal Blue, Taupe, Wine and Purple. I used the Taupe today and I'm happy with the results.

Here's the linen before the dyeing process ~ 32 ct cream.

Here's the linen after the dyeing process. I wanted the mottled look and I got just that. Thanks Daffy for the wonderful dyeing tutorial.


Cameron has really changed over the last couple weeks, but there's been a remarkable change in the last few days. I can't pinpoint the exact difference, but he's definitely maturing. He plays more as opposed to just throwing things and causing a mess. Don't think positively though...he's still throwing things and making a mess, and we still can't have our chairs around our kitchen table, but he is becoming a more "playful" child.

Lately, he's been putting my flip-flops on and surprisingly he gets them on correctly which is amazing. I was in the kitchen and I heard what sounded like shuffling (instead of walking) so I turned and there my little man was with my flip-flops on his feet. Later in the day, he came running totally excited and pointing in the direction of his barn (he still isn't speaking words, but I can translate the baby/toddler language), so I followed right behind him. Apparently Spock and Capt. Kirk visited the barnyard animals...and boy did they have an interesting time here on Planet Earth!

I've been working on only two projects right now. The Traveling Stitcher by LHN and Susan's Sweet Tin by Susan Greening Davis. I'm really into these and am nearing the halfway point with both if not further than that. I don't have progress photos now, but I'll take some soon and share. I'm off to sit and stitch a bit, and get off my bad knee, while Cameron naps. Plus, me and Jose are watching Season 9 of Friends.

Talk soon!

memorial day

My Grandpa was a WWII veteran. I can’t possibly imagine the things he must have witnessed during the war and I can’t possibly fathom the nightmares that followed. But one thing I know, he was a remarkable man of very few words, but when he spoke it was funny and genuine. He passed away from pneumonia in 1993 when I was 16. There isn’t a year that passes where I don’t wish he were here today so I could sit and chat with him. I know he would find my morals, opinions and views uplifting, and he would agree with my thoughts wholeheartedly. He would also find my sons fascinating and that makes me laugh. I love him more today than ever before and wished that he was here with me and my family. [This photo is really in color and I turned it to gray scale. These are grandpa's hats, his dog tags, and a Japanese flag he acquired somehow before coming home.

Grandpa in the South Pacific during the war.

Grandma and Grandpa in their younger days.

I stitched Bent Creek's Courage a couple years ago in remembrance of my grandpa. Sadly, I haven’t found a way to finish-finish it yet. Once it’s finished I am setting it next to the items (photo above) that belonged to my grandpa located in my curio cabinet.

I’m thankful for days like Memorial Day because it’s just another excuse, another reason more, to sit back and pay tribute to him and all the others just like him. Happy Memorial Day!

Onto stitching…

Me and mom met up with our friends, Sally and Susan, today to do a little Memorial Day cross stitch shopping because the LNS was open and why not!!! We had a good time and continued our visit at Red Robin for lunch. That was yummy-fun. Even Jose tagged along at the store and for lunch ~ he was awfully patient and well-mannered! Here’s some great stash I picked up on our outing.

I love the punchneedle sampler design by Stone & Thread. You don't see these too often in punchneedle so I had to have it. Everyone notices the Notforgotten Farm Christmas Cat! design. I love the verse: Not a critter was stirring...except for the CAT! LOL I don't own a cat but it is still cute. And lastly, Banbury Cross by Little by Little. This design just struck me. At first I didn't realize that the monkey was riding a rooster and when I looked more closely I knew I had to have this chart. The colors are yet again vibrant. The design itself is really cute. It reminds me of India - minus the rooster. It's just a whimsy piece that I think will be fun to stitch, so into the stash pile it goes.

Birds and Berries by Sheepish Designs. The colors in this piece are so vibrant and cheery.

The leather cording and yarn stuff would be nice to use for hanging pillows or cupboard door cushions. There was scrap linen and this piece was only $2.20. It is 32 ct, 9 1/2 x 10 1/2. I plan on dyeing it with RIT dye. Not too shabby I thought. I got a skein of pink Perle cotton to make a tassel for a pair of vintage scissors I own.

Me and the boys are off to have dinner with my FIL. I believe we're having Mexican food at El Chico ~ Adios!

Talk soon!

revising and playing catch-up

You know, I get on a roll, something happens and I am set back. Cameron has broken the wireless adapter to my laptop ~ he cracked it as a matter of fact. So, I haven’t had my laptop in 2 weeks. I was making due and finding little ways to use my desktop PC since it is in an area of the house that’s off limits to Cameron, but this past week I’ve fallen way behind. I mean, way behind. I have blog catch-up, group catch-up and email catch-up to do. Then my email/Internet was interrupted and thankfully my dh fixed it, but I didn’t have any access for nearly two days. I loath the dependency I have on technology. It’s frustrating and addictive. Okay, I’m off my Internet/computer hang-ups soapbox...until next time (keeping fingers x'd).

I have fallen off the current rotation wagon. SHAME ON ME!!! I’m disappointed with myself, but a little relieved. Having seven projects for each day of the week leaves little time for those very special projects you just can’t seem to put down. At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I’ve decided, the heck with the current rotation and have a loosely fit rotation schedule with less going on. I think I’ll get more projects done this way. Besides, there are days I can’t stitch until nighttime and if that is the case then how much progress am I really having?!?! Not much.

“Who’s that girl” finally has a tree to sit underneath on those hot, hot days, along with a sweet visit from birdie. And suddenly before I knew it, “who’s that girl” had the starting of a pink little cottage to visit.

I can’t keep my hands off the Traveling Stitcher by LHN. It uses Crescent Colors and done on lambswool and is fun to stitch. I’ve had the Needles design stitched, but not assembled into the needlecase holder yet. Aside from the LHN project, I cannot keep my needle away from Susan’s Sweet Tin by Susan Greening Davis.

These stitches are so neat. One is called the Lace Wheels Reversed stitch (right) and Grid for Strap stitch (left). There are several sections or rows to this piece and I have more stitches to learn. One is called the German Interlaced Herringbone stitch (I've stitched it since this photo was taken so more on this specialty stitch later) which is known to make people talk to themselves and go crazy bc of its complexity. This design was all about pulling threads and re-weaving with a Perle cotton thread. So far, I’m having a ton of fun with this project.

I can’t decide which other project, if any, to add to the revised current rotation. I would like to stitch on each project for a couple days and then switch designs, which means that I can only have 2-4 projects per week. Four at the most. I’m thinking I’d be better off with three. I believe I’ll get more accomplished with fewer projects in my hands. I mean, c'mon, I do only have two hands =)!

My mom sent me a link this weekend and I think lots of you will be interested. It’s a free SAL. Go check it out HERE for more details.

Jose’s 12th birthday is May 31st. I can’t believe he’s turning 12 – a tween as society calls them. Where has the time gone? Jose’s last day of school was Thursday, but unfortunately he lacked effort through this school year and has to attend summer school. On the flip side of the unfortunate is fortunately for him summer school only lasts 3 weeks. Whatever happened to summer-long summer school? Ahhh, we need a vacation.

I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures of my sneaky little snake. Cameron managed to get an empty Coke bottle out of the trash, got the cap off, and then quietly snuck into the bathroom and used the cap as a cup. The things that go on his little head…

Talk soon!

who's that girl???

I was up late last night stitching. I have been going back and forth from Little House Needleworks to Susan Greening Davis. I was in bed stitching when it dawned on me how cute this little girl is from the Traveling Stitcher design. Isn't she cute!? Before I continued I had to take a photo of her sweetness.

Today I'm going back and forth from Stacy Nash's Country Sampler Velvet Bag (with a blue peacock motif) to my Susan tin. That's all on the stitching front.

As we speak, me and mom are planning to bring my Aunt Pam here for a week-long visit and I'm getting very excited about that. If my aunt will let me, I really want to take photos of our visit. We are going to take little adventures to the local quilt shops and to the LNS. It's going to be soooooo much fun ~ I can hardly wait!

I'm on page 31 of The Rosewood Casket. It first told of Indians in the Appalachian in the 1800's and now I believe we're in present day. It's keeping me interested. (Thanks Sally! - I hope you're enjoying The Host.)

Our dishwasher has died on us and I'm actually okay with that. I'm just glad it isn't the furnace, water heater, stove, refrigerator, etc. Those are a necessity but the dishwasher is not. I used to hand wash dishes years ago so it isn't as bad as it could be. I'm not as upset about it as dh is. Is having a dishwasher a nice thing? Sure! But it isn't necessary and I'm okay with such things.

Cameron is napping so I'm off to stitch. Talk soon!