Happy New Year

I hope everyone had happy holidays. Ours were wonderful, time spent in the hospital aside and even that had a good result.

I had one late 2008 finish yesterday--my first of two Love Quilt Squares. Please forgive the scan--I'm still working out the kinks on the new computer. I just realized that the scanner and camera wizard I depended on and the Adobe Photoshop I loved are not on the new computer. The charts were taken from parts of patterns at Ludivine's blog. I used DMC 153, 340, 341, 553, 554, 600, 603, 604, 963 and 3689. I hope it makes the recipient happy. Angie thought it was pretty so I'll need to make her something similar someday.

2008 was not as productive as 2007. I didn't finish a single humbug although I started many. I had a few nice finishes, but my volume was down as I tried to juggle work, home and hobbies.

I think 2009 will be the year of the quilt as I focus on Angie's school project for the first three months. I will take some time for SALs at the Chatelaine and HAED message boards, but I have lots of lovely fabric to make quilts. I've seen lots of lovely modern quilts that I am itching to try. My hope for the future is that I finish one quilt per year in addition to my other hobbies.

As for cross stitch, I'm doing the new Challenge at HAED, with the hopes that the finished design will go to a charity project. I'd like to start the new Chatelaine Hanging Gardens of Semiramis (since it was my suggestion) and the new mini mandala non-mystery (it has trees--a favorite motif of mine). I still have one more Love Quilt Square, but that isn't due until May, so it will be a lunch and travel project. I'd like to finish the Wedding Present and the skulls projects. I'm not sure what else 2009 has in store for me cross-stitch-wise. I'd like to get back to the Spanish Sampler, Polar Lights, and start Paradigm Lost.

More than anything, I'd like to find and buy a new, slightly larger, home in 2009. We have truly outgrown our cozy little gray house, but it is incredibly difficult to get loans in the current economy. Hopefully, 2009 will be our year. as long as we can stay together, mostly happy and healthy, I guess it is all good.

I hope 2009 is good to all of you.

Precious little time

We have a new computer program at work which runs everything essential. Unfortunately, we are essentially de-bugging the thing while trying to work cases so things have slowed enormously. The result is precious little time for me to stitch as my lunch break has all but evaporated.

Chas will be working a lot through the beginnning of April, so posts here will be sparse.


I did manage to find time to start Purple Passion in a Bag, which was obtained thanks to Nicki. And thank you Nicki for the skein of Amethyst in my Christmas card--that was so thoughtful. I guess I've mentioned that I love purple.

I knew this would happen....

No sooner do I post some restrictions on my spending and stash acquisition (except that I think I'm letting myself buy the Illuminated Medieval Sampler because that would be a gift for someone else--I want those swirly bits in parts not in one big lump), then Martina posts a preview of the Tuscany Mandala Garden.

It's even more beautiful than I hoped and I'll have to join it. Italy is one of my favorite places. If she'd thrown in Venice I would have just sent her money on the spot, group or no group.

Fortunately, it's just a a designer WIP and Martina has not even created the yahoo group yet.

I know what you're thinking:

Holley, stop blogging and go stitch something!

Wow! That is COLD!

We are in the below zero range (Fahrenheit--I don't know what that is in Celsius) and have been for several days. I haven't left the house since Friday night. I called off work today because cold weather is hard on my asthma, sub-zero temperatures are brutal. There were over 600 schools closed in Northeastern Ohio today. I'm not sure what the count is for tomorrow. My intention is to go into work anyway.

And since I keep forgetting to respond to Nicki's question about my inhaler: they have come up with one that does not use CFC's, but it is a matter of what my insurance company will cover right now. I suppose they won't have a choice soon.

Angie has been sick since Friday night. She still sounds terrible, but her mood is better. She is a little pale and her eyes are red rimmed, but I think she is on the mend. We had a nice day together, cuddling on the couch and assembling puzzles. She was missing her Dad by bathtime so he had to "rescue" her from the tub.

I received some stitching supplies in the mail today: The ECC Bead Collectors Club February shipment, some backordered things from Stitching Bits and Bobs and an order from ABC Stitchery. Some things are still en route, but it was great to get three packages in one day. When not playing with Angie, I ogled my new ornament charts (and the TW Best of Christmas Book), some small cuts of fabric, the beads, and some deeply discounted Stranded by the Sea (which I love and wish I had more of them) and some also deeply discounted Six Strand Sweets (which are nice although I don't go for a lot of pastels). It was quite fun to play with the beads.

I stitched very little this weekend since Angie needed lots of cuddle time. I did manage to finish the dress on Midi and the lady's skin. The dress is gorgeous even if I do say so myself. I am well on track to finishing all the cross stitching on Midi soon. I'm itching to get to the beads and special stitches.

Have Needles, Will Stitch.

I am ready for the Ornament SAL tomorrow. I've grabbed a pack of needles, pulled the silks and fabric and selected the chart. Now I just need to wait patiently for lunchtime tomorrow so that I can start.

Today I received the Dinky Dyes LE Winter Pack! It is beautiful. I couldn't capture the color of the fabric properly (it's more of a lighter, sparklier blue), but the silks and cottons are close. I love #12 perle and my pack included a skein of Mulberry Ice in #12 perle. Happy Day!



In other, non-stitching, news: My glucose test from Saturday indicates there may be a problem, so I have to take the 3 hour test this Saturday. They were so wonderful and accommodated me because they don't normally do the long test on Saturdays (they are only open for a few hours). I explained that I don't have enough leave to cover maternity leave and they were kind enough to squeeze me in so I can save those precious four hours for the baby.

So Saturday, I will wake up early, get poked, drink more super sugary, fizzy, orange goo, wait an hour, get poked, wait another hour, get poked, and wait yet another hour and get poked again. Fun. I'll be taking some ornaments to stitch of course. With the sugar high, the lack of food, and the constant blood drawing, they will be very simple ornaments.

Augh.

This latest brilliant move should sum up my week for you:

Tonight, while on the phone with my Mom, I accidentally deleted Angie's absolute favorite episode of the Backyardigans. Then my Mom started blaming herself for the deletion. No Mom, I'm pretty sure that was all me. That is what happens when I try to multi task and I am completely and wholly exhausted. I'm all hormonal so I just want to cry between deleting the show Angie currently loves the most and Mom blaming herself for something completely unrelated to anything she did.

Sigh. At least I can re-record the episode. It isn't on again for another nine days, but we will get it back. I'll just feel like an idiot every time she asks to see it.

This week has just been chock full of stupid and annoying little things like that. Sometimes it's my error (or more likely the new and exciting forgetful stage of the pregnancy that I've entered); other times, it was other peoples mistakes that were blamed upon me and took some time to sort out. I'm so glad it's the weekend.

I wanted to stitch the lady in Midi 1 tonight, having finally made a decision about the dress. However, considering my current state of mind, I think I'll just pass on the stitching. Instead, I've been planning the ornaments for next week's sal and then I'll cut some fabric and maybe grab some fibers. Heaven help me that I don't make major mistakes with the cutting.

On the good news front from this week. I received a shipment of fabric from Sugar Maple Fabrics--Gorgeous stuff. My favorite keeps changing. I like Breeze, and Snowflake, and Iris, and Fairy Garden, and .... I'm torn between stitching on them or just hanging them up and enjoying them in their pure state.

Chas and Angie picked up the sofa bed from IKEA in Pittsburgh today. They had a nice little adventure today, shopping in PA. Chas wanted to buy some University of Pittsburgh gear for the kids, bought some things, still wasn't pleased with his selections so he was muttering about searching on-line. Angie picked out an outfit for the baby ("pirates"--that's my girl) and then asked nicely for the Superman pjs for herself (which she received since she used her good manners). They arrived home roughly a half hour before I came home from work and we all ran out the door to take Angie to Gymboree.

Afterwards we ate dinner and went shopping for more baby clothes--had to use the Gymbucks before they expired and we expect to get snowed in tomorrow. I even bought some preemie stuff because we don't know how big this child will be. My brothers and I were all enormous and I thought Angie would be the same. She was tiny (but still healthy and considered full size) so the clothes we bought in 0 to 3 months were gigantic on her. Since we haven't had a chance to assess the damage to Angie's baby clothes, this child has gone from having one new onesie to an entire wardrobe suitable for everything from leaky diapers to dress up occasions.

Due to all this activity, we came home late, which led to my t.v. error above.

It might not be the worst thing to be trapped at home tomorrow. Umm. As long as we have heat. Please.