Pattern overload.

Martina released the new parts a day early. Last year I won first prize in the Bingo game at the Chatelaine Design Support at Yahoo Groups and won four classes and one chart (Yippee). So today after work, I downloaded the parts to Midi 2 (Stunningly gorgeous), Medieval Town Mandala (So far away from me and part 2 that I can only admire it right now) and Part 7 to GTK (the inner vines).

So my dilemma becomes: What to stitch? Do I go for GTK to get a jump on this part and finish it this week? Do I keep stitching on Santorini, which was my lunch project at work, just to see if I can reach my July Goal? Do I stitch JG, which is what I stitched last night after feeling the need to work on the final corner ornament for the first time in months? Do I go back to Midi 1 so that I can justify starting Midi 2?

So many pretty patterns and I don't know what to do.

Cleaning update.

We pulled everything out of the basement yesterday. At least everything that was affected by the sudden development of our own indoor wading pool and waterfalls was brought into the sunlight.

My fancy dresses are okay, if a little damp. Not that I need fancy dresses any longer, or that it is even likely that I could fit into them still, but it's nice to know they are there. I thought Angie would like to play dress up with them in a few years. And one of them is from my first date with Chas. They'll need to be cleaned a bit.

I've gone through four or five wet boxes of books. The good news is that somehow most of the books are unscathed. The bad news is that four or five books that I wanted to keep are too badly damaged to salvage. I'm also taking the opportunity to donate a lot of books to the Goodwill. Not as many as Chas would prefer, but still, a respectable number considering my pack rat nature. And somehow, I still have not located the Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings books or even Pilgrim's Progress. At least they aren't damaged, but I'm really wondering where they are now? I'm wondering if my basement has tapped into L-Space. I probably have enough books on my own to count as a small library. Add in Chas's books and Angie's books and we definitely would qualify. (If I start hearing "Oooook" sounds from my basement I'll just throw down some bananas.)

A little strangeness occurred when a teen walked up our driveway with cash in hand and eyes sparkling greedily as he asked, "Is the stuff in the garage for sale?" He looked completely bewildered when Chas and I both told him no, we're not selling anything, we're just laying it out to dry. He and the older gentleman behind him wandered back to their truck, looking confused and vaguely disappointed. Sheesh. No the stuff in the garage was not for sale, it was not affected at all.

Angie bounced around us outside telling us, "You have made a mess! If you don't clean up our courtyard, you can't have a bath!" over and over again. If I hadn't been so grimy from the heat and the work, I would have felt almost regal at the thought that our backyard is now a courtyard.

As night arrived, we were still sorting and repacking things. We placed everything in the garage so that the basement could continue to dry out. Angie helped carry things too and so I managed to receive only two mosquito bites.

So much for spring cleaning in July.

The Domesticated Animals in Me:

You Are: 60% Dog, 40% Cat

You are a nice blend of cat and dog. You're playful but not too needy. And you're friendly but careful. And while you have your moody moments, you're too happy to stay upset for long.

Are You More Cat or Dog?

State of Emergency

Hmmm. I've never lived in a place that was declared to be in a state of emergency before. At least not that I can recollect.

An incredible number of storms rolled through here Thursday. It rained a bit down in downtown Cleveland where I work, but here it poured apparently. On the way home, a city truck in Willowick was parked over some standing water in the road to prevent people from driving through it. The rest of the way was fine, except that it was rainy.

When I arrived home, a stream was cascading down my driveway. I went inside and Chas said that it had been raining all day. I stood in our bedroom as he told me this and I heard heavily running water from inside the house. I put on my wading slippers and opened the door to the basement. Water was rushing down the slope under our basement stairs. I looked further at the frame of the entrance to the basement at the bottom of the steps: Water was spraying out both sides of the frame and gushing onto the basement floor. It was very pretty except that it was inside my home!

Chas and I have determined that the end of the world is starting here in Lake County with all the earthquakes and storms this year.

Fortunately our drain was not clogged because the water just formed a wading pool and then rolled into the drain. We have damage to personal items. I fear the box of books that was hit may be the one that contains my Lord of the Rings Trilogy and my Harry Potter Books. Or even the edition of Pilgrim's Progress with beautiful watercolor art plates.

Today we clean and I learn what books are lost.

Argggh

I had a very long detailed post about the general crappiness of the last few days. Then for whatever reason, my browser restarted and the post is lost forever.

In sum:

Tuesday: Car trouble (only car trouble)
Yesterday: Work--incredibly draining
Today: Work--Okay then blew up (accurate description); Water pouring into basement (maybe we should name the small stream under the stairs Angie too!)

On the kindness front, my husband still loves me and it is likely that my daughter does too. And I received the Care Kitty Fae as a gift from Nadia Tate. That couldn't have had better timing actually.

Sigh.

More posts later. Right now I'm just fried.

Be dazzled: Ballet Pig QS

Isn't she beautiful? I want to keep stitching on her, but the coin toss indicated that tomorrow I return to Santorini.

I have determined that I will not do another entirely over one design on Belfast (except for small parts of Martina's designs). The stitches just don't lay as nicely as they do on the true evenweaves.

Still she glows and I love her. As I stitched some of the pig, I kept thinking, "This color makes no sense whatsoever. I don't like how this looks." But with each new color added, they blended and she shines. Michelle and Bob and Sara are geniuses.

As always the pictures don't do her colors justice and the gridding threads (removed after I've finished the section entirely) are distracting. The back, however, is a complete disaster area. My Teresa Wentzler's aren't that cluttered. I did a quick count and there are at least 27 different colors in the pig's face alone. Yikes.

I may try to add some stitches this weekend. I'm missing one or two stitches here and there and I'd like to pick up the odd stitches before I forget where they are. We'll see what the weekend brings.

Oh, Angie has named the dancing piggy Angela. :oD

Can't blog. Must stitch

That has been the theme for the last week and the reason I've been so quiet. I have made great progress on the Ballet Pig QS. Picture to follow tomorrow or Wednesday day after the SALs end. Brace yourselves to be suitably impressed.

Reply to Cathy

I'm posting this here instead of at her blog because it's too darn long. Don't ask why I responded this way, I just got on a roll and, well, rolled. (Hi Cathy! [waves foolishly through cyberspace])

1. Produce good! Yummmm I just love saying "Bok Choy." What a great name for a vegetable.
2. Your home is screaming for sunflowers. Go get a few.
3. I will stand next to Sam. Mosquitoes generally prefer me to anyone else in the area.
4. I love doorknobs and faucets. I'll take a picture of my bathroom so that you'll know what not to do: 80's lights, and mismatched wallpaper and border paper.
5. The bracelet is beautiful. My apologies that your sampler for your sons isn't complete yet.
6. Wow. Very exciting that demolition will begin next week. I can almost visualize the changes as you described them in your earlier post.
7. I feel the same way. Does this mean that the coffee, cross stitch/ knitting / crochet shop will be on the table again? ;o)
8. Someone at work thinks the incredible amount of rain has led to the creation of bigger and heretofore unknown bugs.
9. I've been gardening in fits lately. On Sunday I quickly planted what was left of the sprouts and tonight I moved the curry plant to the flower bed to give my little runt of a lavender plant a fighting chance. I have some yarn that I will never use, would you like it? I can't vouch for it's quality as I inherited it from my Grandma, but maybe you can use it?
10. I received an e-mail similar to that a few months after Angie was born whilst I was in the midst of worrying that she would die from SIDS like Lucas (she was close to the Lucas's age at his time of death). I had a sleepless night because she had been up a lot and received an e-mail foretelling death and a pox on my family if I didn't forward the thing. I sent a similar e-mail to that person and several others. I feel a little guilty about it because I'm sure that person meant no harm. I just couldn't deal with one more bad thought and I reacted harshly. That's a long way of saying I completely understand.
11. My Dad has a similar picture of a Watermill with ducks and another one with rolling hills. I don't know what happened to the Watermill one. I kind of miss it. I can't believe that Dad would have thrown it away. It has to be there somewhere.
12. Coffee is important, but what I really need is that midday Diet Dr. Pepper.
13. Hypothetically, I hope the missing dog is found. She is a cutie.
14. I think the shower rating requirement is somewhere in the marriage contract. Check the fine print.
15. Yup. Hope your foot feels better. Hugs.

Whew. I think that is everything. Actually it was probably too much.

Mid Year SAL at HAED BB

Don't you just love all the initials? The SAL runs from July 21st to July 25th.

For my SAL piece, I'll be working on the Ballet Pig QS. I love switching between the rich, dark colors in Frog Prince and the bright blues for the Pig. I know it is a small project to work on for the SAL, but I would love to have another happy dance soon.

In this picture, you can just make out a little piggie nose.

Tangentally, Angie loves to hear the "Three Little Pigs" as a bedtime story. I did too at her age.

Listing

I'm working on my 101 things list. I'm only up to 27--I thought I would be able to come up with lots of things. I actually thought I would need to pare down my list.

I don't want it to turn into "101 Cross stitch things in 1001 days," although that could be fun too.

I think I'll hit a few more lists for inspiration.

Pre-SAL Frog Prince

Still no Frog or Princess Angela yet, but what you see is three rows completed! Woo-hooo.



I was tired of that background! I don't know if I have the stamina for the larger HAED's. Fortunately there are plenty of great quick stitches and story keeps to do. Well there are still a few (quite a few) full size HAED's beckoning me, and I'm certain I'll succumb sometime to one or many of them.

I'll stitch Frog Prince for the Wednesday SAL, and switch to the Ballet Piggie for the Mid Year SAL. Lots of HAED fun for me this week.

Fruits of My Labor (or at least the Flowers Thereof)...

It looks like we will actually have blossoms on the Hydrangeas soon. I see the little flower buds cropping up. I can't wait to see what color they will be--it's a complete mystery since I don't know the PH level of our flower beds.

The wildflower garden is in full bloom. Still only the lone, pale butterfly, I don't know if he is the same one from last year, or perhaps a descendent.

The geraniums are blooming again: Nice bright pink blooms which look wonderful next to our little grey house in the shade of the maple trees.

The Dahlietas are dying. I think the humidity and the heat have really gotten to them. Or they are just waterlogged. Hard to tell.

We tore out lots of the creeping vincas from the front flower bed and took them to mom. She wants something to plant at the side of her house because she has a hard time mowing on that sharp, small slant. The vines will certainly take over that area in just a few seasons, and if they can grow in our fower beds, they can grow anywhere. She's going to watch Angie in about a month and we can give her more then.

The sprouts have struggled. I still need to plant the sweet peas but the marigolds have collapsed. I'll try again next year. Maybe I'll start the seedlings earlier in the spring next year. Can't hurt.

The Fuschia in the hanging basket is doing well. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep it alive. Still no hummingbirds in sight though. Drat. I saw a hummingbird or two at my brother's house. He said they have at least five. I suppose it's too much to ask that one little hummingbird find his or her way to our house?

My little hodge-podge garden is puttering along. I may put one or two more flowers in within the next month, for more color. I'd still like to find some portulacas.

Appropo Quiz Result

You scored as Judge. You are a Judge Empath, one who is a "truthsayer". You can tell truth from lies, good from evil. You do not tolerate wrong doing. You are a defender of the good and the innocent. You are kind and merciful but do not play foolish games. (from "The Book of Storms" by Jad Alexander at MySilentEcho.com) Judge 85% Healer 80% Fallen Angel 70% Universal 55% Artist 50% Shaman 45% Traveler 45% Precog 45% What Kind of Empath Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

Very good considering my profession. I really didn't think I would pull Judge Empath though.

I'm Back

We survived the whirlwind weekend trip to see my Dad and my Mom. I wish we had thought to plan something special for Dad. My brother Scott and I are both kicking ourselves over that. I think next year we will do a big to-do for him. He seemed pleased with the cook out at my Brother's house. Angie managed to keep everyone entertained.

I was still feeling kind of bad so I wasn't in the best of moods. I'm still a little snappish unfortunately. Mom is coming up to watch Angie next month while we go to a party for Chas's company. She is going to stay extra so she can actually visit with me.

In stitching news, I took Springtime Roses with me for stitching in the car. Martina designed this freebie for a May SAL those of us who couldn't go to the U.S. classes were having over at the Chatelaine BB. It was amazingly nice of her. It is such a pretty little design, I can't figure out why I haven't finished it. Perhaps it is that I have been distracted by other designs (Midi and JG spring to mind). I'm thinking that I can actually finish it within the next month if I actually work on it now and then.


I also worked on Frog Prince 3. That upper section has been distressing me. I concentrated on filling in all the single empty spots and that has improved my mood. If I can stitch it tonight, I should have the top three rows of blocks completed. I'll need to grid more sections before I do much more stitching as I am already starting to move beyond the gridded area. I'm almost to the girl and the crown. If I can do three rows each month, I may have this finished in time for Christmas and meet my goal.

I'm also pondering doing one of those infamous 101 things in 1001 days that seems to be floating around. I'm feeling list-y lately, which I suppose is better than listless. I need to peruse some lists to see what sort of reasonable goals I can accomplish.

Anticipation....

Just waiting I suppose...

I ordered the Dinky Dyes Summer Pack for my July cross stitch allotment. They were shipped on June 30, but mine has not arrived yet. Sigh. It's rarely this late and I'm worried I may never see it.

I'm waiting for the next series of Building Blocks from Stitchin'spiration. The previous set was to retire on July 8th, but she must have been to busy to change it. I can certainly understand being too busy, so I'm just waiting eagerly to see what she puts up next.

I'm waiting and hoping for a glimpse of the new St. Petersburg Mandala Martina mentioned on the Chatelaine BB. I think it will need another dark fabric like Taj and I think I'll really, really need to stitch it. I'm also waiting for the materials list for Mystery 10. Both of these probably won't appear until the fall, but I can daydream about them anyway.

Just me waiting. Hoping.

While I'm at it, I might as well wait and hope to win the lottery too.

"I'm really, really ever so not well!"

Or at least I have been. The quote above pops out of my four year old's mouth from time to time (complete with British accent since she's absorbed it from "Charlie and Lola"), but it definitely applies to me this week.

It's been so humid we were swimming through air here. That and the rain induced flooding in our basement triggered all of my allergies and I've been foggy, miserable and in a lot of pain. Went to the doctor on Thursday and received a new prescription.

With the prescription and the fact that I haven't been in the basement for over twenty four hours, I'm feeling human again. Hooray.

Today is my Dad's Birthday!

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

He is seventy five and we'll be driving down to see him today for a quick overnight trip.

You would think...

that with all the diet Dr. Pepper I drink, we would have won one of the 23 Hummer by now.

Not that we want a Hummer, but I think I've earned one based on my sheer consumption levels.

I Did It: GTK Parts 5 and 6 are Done!

I can't believe I actually finished these parts this week! All that stitching while riding the PA highways truly helped. I put the final bead in place last night after watching the Muppet Show DVD selected by Angie. One of the grape clusters is slightly off, but then again, so am I. I liked the cluster and I just didn't want to re-do it.

The photo is a scan so I had to tinker with the colors and they still aren't accurate, but they'll do. It is cloudy here so a true photo wouldn't show the colors either.

I almost don't know what to do with myself. I'll probably head to Santorini.

July Goals:

I posted this on the Chatelaine BB. I am very goal oriented if you can't tell. At least at the moment I'm goal oriented. I feel the need to strive for something to justify all the new starts over the past year I suppose.

Chatelaine goals
1. Finish stitching the last zen garden and corner element in JG.
2. Complete the black and blue border in JG.
3. Complete one crane section in JG.
4. Complete one blue and gold ornament in WG.
5. Complete another set of pillar/gate in WG.
6. Complete part 5 & 6 of GTK.
7. Complete the unfinished sections of parts 1, 2 and 3 of Midi 1.
8. Start kit and prep fabric for Midi 2 and stitch the black frame (993 NPI being one of the colors I have on hand).
9. Stitch part 2 of MTM.
10. Stitch on Springtime roses.
11. Stitch the dragonfly in purple for a friend.

Non Chatelaine goals:
1. Finish the hands, face, hair, fan and obi on mom's Japanese Lady.
2. More flowers on the Japanese Lady.
3. Finish the kimono on the Japanese Lady.
4. Stitch at least 20 ten by ten squares on the Santorini project for my Dad.
5. Stitch at least 6 ten by ten squares on the Frog Prince 3.
6. Complete 6 ten by ten squares on Star Fae.
7. Complete at least 6 ten by ten squares on Ballet Pigs.
8. Complete at least 4 ten by ten squares on Pegasus and Castle Bubble.
9. Do the final charting and start stitching on the sampler I'm doing for a friend.

Half year stitching goals:

Inspired by the HAED board, I thought I ought to post my stitching goals for the rest of 2006.

Chatelaine:

1. Finish Amethyst. The stitching is entirely done. I need to find different beads because I changed it from gold to silver. I also need to decide what to do with the crystals. The colors picked by Martina don't go with my purple silks. I think I have decided to use the ptb, or maybe the perle and do specialty stitches instead, but I'm not quite certain yet.

2. Finish Midi 1. I have everything I need to finish it, I just need to buckle down and do it.

3. Finish GTK. I am so pleased that I have managed to stay current with this class. The only scary part will be the actual finishing it into a book. I hope I am up for it.

4. Finish WG. This is a gift project and I have been working on it since the fall of 2004. I do not want to carry it into 2007. I love the silk pool--it was my first experience stitching with silks and I immediately fell in love with them. However, the columns and gates area is my downfall--all that grey is BORING! Although it will be beautiful when done.

5. Finish JG. I should, I just really should. I wanted to complete it in one year, but I am so far off my stitching plan for JG I don't know if I will be able to catch up. Oh well. It's also about the journey right?

HAED

1. Finish QS Ballet Pigs. I love this little piggy. Angie loves animals and dancing so I think she will like it. I stand a very good chance of finishing this one because it is so small and has nice blocks of color.

2. Finish QS Star Fae. I love this one. I love all the Nadia Tate designs, but I have plans to group some of the other Faes together, so I allowed myself to start this one as a solo. Next year, I will add other faes to my goal list. I will probably start others, but I really hope to finish this one.

3. Finish QS Frog Prince 3. As much as the confetti stitches are killing me, I really must finish this one. Angie is so caught up in the idea that this is her and a froggy that I must complete it. I have no choice. Of the three goals posted at the HAED board, this will probably be the most difficult one for me to keep. It is large for a QS and has tons of confetti so I get discouraged.

4. Complete one half page of Pegasus and Castle Bubble. I did not post this on the HAED board for the half year competition, because the other qs are higher priorities, but I really hope to make some progress on this design. It's beautiful and I want to see how those bubbles look stitched.

Other Stitching Projects:

1. Complete the Japanese Lady for Mom. It is just disgraceful how slowly I am going on this one. I should be ashamed to start anything new until I make more progress on this Lady. I still have lots of work on her kimono to do plus the birds and the parasol. Lets not even discuss the backstitching. Mom will change her decor by the time I actually finish this design at my current rate.

2. Complete Santorini for Dad. Enough said. I should get this done. It has a nice blend of confetti and large blocks of color. Of course I'm using full crosses (which has convinced me to use tent/continental stitching for all my other over one designs) so that will slow me down. I'm still hoping to finish it by fall so that my brother can frame it for him.

3. Complete Plane for Dad. It is a kit, and I hate kits. I'm running out of thread, which is discouraging me from stitching on it, and I keep adding half stitches to "fix" the design, which also discourages me. Still I must do it.

4. Design and stitch a sampler for a friend. Must do it. Must. I have most of the elements lined up, I just need to pull them together and actually stitch it. I have most of the fibers too. At least I think I do. I may change my mind once the actual stitching commences.

Wishful Starting:

One would think with this lengthy list of finishes, a sensible person would not dream of adding to the pool. Clearly, I am not a sensible person, so here is my list of want to starts by the end of the year:

1. Midi 2 by Chatelaine.
2. Fireflies on Parade QS by Stacey Tippin and HAED.
3. Butterfly Fae QS by Nadia Tate and HAED.
4. Dragonfly Fae QS by Nadia Tate and HAED.
5. Stitching Leporello by Chatelaine.
6. Japanese Octagonal Box by Chatelaine.
7. Several other Nadia Tate Faes by HAED.
8. Motherhood QS by Selina Fenech and HEAD
9. Fractal 25 by Cross Stitch Collectibles.
10. Mystery Sampler by Pappilion.
11. Garden Stars by Ink Circles.
12. Multiplication Tables by Long Dog.
13. Peacock love by Josephine Wall and HAED.
14. Polar Lights by Chatelaine.
15. One of the trees by M Designs.
16. One of my Monsterbubbles designs.

I don't even own the 10-12 charts, but I would still like to work on them.

I think that is more than enough to keep me out of trouble.

Or maybe deeper in trouble.

July 5th SAL: Ballet Pig QS

Not bad. I think it looks nice. I really enjoy stitching it and I think DD will love it. However, next week I should return to Frog Prince 3 because I know that is the one she really wants.

First Happy Dance of 2006! Now with Pictures!

As mentioned earlier, I finished the Pitt Panther for my dear husband.

Ta-Da!!!!

I purchased this design during the 2005 Northcoast Tour de Stitch in October. The designer is Happenchance and I believe that her license for University charts has expired so I got it just in time. I recharted "Pitt" from the original block letters to the script, which is preferred by my husband. He does not know what he wants to do with it yet, but I'm sure he'll decide eventually.

I can't tell you how thrilled I am that I finally moved something off that WIPS section to the right. I'm just happy I actually finished something! Now if the stitching momentum could keep going.

Stitching Update

While on our travels, I packed almost every WIP I have to keep busy.

On all the long car rides (Saturday, Monday and Wednesday), I stitched parts 5 and 6 of GTK. I did a little more stitching this morning. I only need to finish five more leaves, backstitch the snail, do the specialty stitches and then add the beads. I think it is very likely that I can finish both parts this week. It will be nice to be caught up on something.

I added a bit of the border of JG on Monday night when we returned to the IL's home because I needed something with large groups of color and the border was the easiest thing I could focus on in my exhaustion.

On Sunday, I focused on Midi 1 and finished Part 5! Then I went back and worked on the vines in the columns. I need to do all of parts four and most of part six and pick up bits from 1, 2 and 3, then I can do the special stitches and beading and be done! I am highly motivated because I really want to work on at least the black border of Midi 2. It is so beautiful. I need most of the silks for Midi 2 but I think I have a piece of antique white that is big enough so I think I will start that one if I make just a bit more progress on Midi 1. On Saturday I did just a bit more stitching on Dad's Santorini, but not as much as I had hoped. I need to count, but I am certain that I did not meet my stitching goal for Santorini in June.

Tuesday night after all the hooplah (and due to the fact that Great-Grandma Ethel put coffee in that very rich chocolate cake she served), I was able to put some stitches in Ballet Pig Quick Stitch. I love it.

Overall, I am quite proud of the amount of stitching actually done this weekend.

Travels

Well, after sleeping in this morning, I am somewhat recovered. Of course I slept so late that Chas drank all the coffee, so I will remain only somewhat recovered.

We drove to PA as advertised on Saturday. The roads were fairly light for the holiday weekend so it was not too burdensome. We saw most of the Family on Sunday and had the cookout them. Always a crazy, busy time.

On Monday, Chas and I left Angie with her grandparents and drove to Mercer, PA for the funeral of one of the Mother of one of Chas's college buddies. I met her once at her daughter's wedding several years ago. She was a very vivid personality and seemed like a genuinely nice person. It was a sudden and unexpected passing and we just wanted to be there to support the family. It was, however, a nine hour drive in total and on the return trip, the air conditioning ceased to work in my MIL's Volvo. Chas and I became a bit silly and slap happy from the heat and exhaustion, but as he said it was definitely better than us snapping at each other the whole way home. We also decided that we had definitely under-rated our Saturn, which, while old, has a solid air conditioning unit and isn't as loud as the Volvo since my Dad helped us fix it in May.

Angie was really pleased to see us. My MIL said she did very well, but poor Angie was beginning to think we weren't returning. They were watching for us from an upstairs window when we finally pulled in the driveway. At night she climbed out of her sleeping bag to check that we were still there. I reassured her that we would be there when she woke up in the morning and then we could play some more.

On Tuesday we had more adventures that will be posted on Angie's blog as they are mostly Angie centric. Wednesday we headed back home in another long six hour drive. We ate a late lunch/early dinner on the road and skipped a final meal at the end of the day. Instead, Angie and I watched a Muppet Show DVD while I stitched on Ballet Pigs for the Wednesday SAL.

Chas and I are completely sick of being in cars and don't want to take any long trips in the near future. Of course, next weekend we go to my hometown to see my Dad for his birthday and just generally see my Mom and Step-Dad. I think we will have recovered by then.

Exhausted

I am so thoroughly, unbelievably greatful that I have the day off tomorrow that words cannot fully express the sentiment.

Hitting the Road

We're off to see my husband's family in PA.

I have new needles to use (some are platinum {which I've never tried before} some are petites {which I love}), the new part to GTK to stitch and the first part of Midi 2 to admire.

Should help pass six hours nicely.

First Happy Dance of 2006!!!

Yes I did indeed finish Hubby's Pitt Panther tonight. Technically, it was at 12:03 a.m. but I'm still counting it as a June finish since I have yet to go to bed.

Pictures will come next week as we are headed to PA to see the grandparents and great-grandparents for a few days.