Shimmering Mermaid January 31, 2009

I am working on another Mirabilia mermaid. I love them. Spurred on by the satisfaction of finishing MOTDB, I have been diligently working on Shimmering Mermaid. I started her earlier in January, but quickly put her aside after a few stitches to work on other things. In the last few days, I have worked on her exclusively.

I am stitching her on 32ct. “Blueberry” lugana by Silkweaver which looks more purple than gray in real life. This is what she will look like finished…(as I sit here wondering how many months/years that will be…one stitch at a time, right?)

One more ice/snow picture…

My mom took this one at their house. With the tree branches drooping and brushing the ground, it looks like the park bench has its own little hideaway. Normally, the branches are a good distance above the bench. They had a lot more snow than we did. They still do not have power. I really hope for their sake that it is restored soon. I am starting to wonder about school on Monday. There is still significant power outage in our county and a shelter is still going strong at one of our elementary schools. Who knows when we will be back… As much as I like being home, I will not like making all of this up at the end of the year.

DH is starting a movie, a mini series on DVD–James Michener’s Centennial. I guess I will go watch and stitch. I am trying hard to avoid the online needlework super bowl sales, but I am feeling my resistance weakening.

More later,

 

Kellie

Ice + snow January 28, 2009

WARNING–LOTS OF PHOTOS IN THIS POST…

(I always think this is a good thing, but I see these kind of warnings in blogs sometimes and there must be a reason…those on dial up, maybe?)

Day 2 of the winter storm happened today. It rained last night and eventually turned into freezing rain. The temperatures dropped causing more ice accumulation. Then it snowed. We are more fortunate than most. We still have electricity, and there are no trees laying on our house or in our vehicles. There are so many here without power and the electric companies are telling people that it could be one to two weeks before their power is restored because the damage is so massive. Red Cross has set up a shelter in one of the local elementary schools to help those that need it. Lots of people bunking in with friends and relatives that have power to stay warm. The local grocery store has a lot of empty shelves–no bread whatsoever!  We went out and about today to see some of the area. The pictures below are from that outing.

 

 

Our family is truly blessed and fortunate. I am not complaining at all. My in laws have their power restored. My parents are without power, but are fine. They heat with a wood stove insert and have a gas fireplace in the basement should they need it. Both my brother and myself have encouraged them to come to our homes, but they insist they are warm and well taken care of. I know they are. When we were kids, the power would sometimes go out for more than a week at a time during winter storms like this one. We not only survived, but were warm and had plenty to eat. My parents know what to do in these situations and also have the equipment to do so. We never camped out as children, but we had camping equipment for just such occasions.

Now on to stitchy news…I finished Mermaids of the Deep Blue last night. WhooHoo!! This was one of my main stitching goals to start the new year. I put the final bead on around midnight last night.

Mermaids of the Deep Blue-Mirabilia

 

 

 

MOTDB is stitched on 32 ct. Amsterdam Blue linen with recommended DMC, Kreinik threads, and Mill Hill beads and treasures. It was fun to stitch, and I am glad it is finished.

I am now working on Mirabilia’s Shimmering Mermaid on a beautiful piece of Silkweaver fabric that my parents gave me for Christmas (have I mentioned lately how much I love Silkweaver fabric? ).  As soon as I have enough progress to show (I am hoping tomorrow) I will upload a photo.

I am off to do a Wii fit workout, watch Lost (any Lost fans out there?) and Life On Mars (yeah! It’s back on tonight!!), and stitch on Shimmy.

I want to say a big thank you to all who have been reading and commenting on my blog lately. I TRULY appreciate it.

 

More later…

Kellie

Ice January 27, 2009

A significant ice storm occurred last night while we slept. As of last night’s forecast, we were on the edge between snow and ice but falling in the snow area. We awoke to no snow, but plenty of ice. The phone rang at 5:15 am announcing that school was out. I peeked out the window then and could see the ice sparkling in the lamplight in our front yard and could hear it tinkling on my son’s window when I checked on him and covered him up. Beautiful to look at this morning, but destructive. My in-laws are without power. We have been fortunate that our power has remained on (for now). However, we lost one of our beautiful Bradford pear trees in our front yard. My father-in-law called a couple of hours ago to say that they lost most of the tall pecan tree in their front yard as well as a huge branch on one of the trees in their back yard. We were able to get out this afternoon and drive around for awhile. It looks like a winter wonderland, but there were a lot of trees, branches, and power lines down. We are fortunate that our house has not been affected. Our governor has declared a state of emergency. I think out of 120 school districts, 105 were closed today. School is out tomorrow as well. I don’t know if we will return this week as there is more weather expected this evening. When I had hoped for snow in my previous post, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.

However, I have enjoyed the day stitching. My mom, who reads my blog (Hi Mom!), commented to me on the phone yesterday about Mermaids of the Deep Blue and inspired me to pick it up today and try to finish it. I am very close. I plan on stitching late into the night, and I am hoping to have a finish to show you tomorrow. I am finishing up the beading and catching a few missed stitches here and there. They are almost done. I can’t wait to have them framed.

Husband just came in to say more of the tree in the front has fallen and he can hear branches and breaking all around the neighborhood. We will all be outside cleaning up this week, I guess.

Since I don’t have stitching pictures to show, I will post a few of the ice in our backyard. I stepped out the back door onto the deck and took a few of a small tree in our backyard as well as our swingset.

 

I am off to read a couple of blogs, download a couple of disks of an audiobook onto my iPod, and then to stitch and watch American Idol. Hope all of you have great night.

 

Kellie

Tagged, Happy Dance, and Progress January 25, 2009

I finished Americana Sampling last night. I am so tickled to have a finish for 2009.

LHN Americana Sampling

I have worked on several other projects over the weekend as well….

BOAF Kindness WIP

PS Simple Gifts-Love WIP

IC Cirque Des Carreaux WIP

Just a little bit of stitching in several…not a lot in any. Please excuse my dark photos and wrinkly fabric. I took the pictures fast tonight with no natural light whatsoever.

We are projected to get a significant winter storm starting tomorrow evening. I like snow. I like wintry weather. There is something about being warm and cozy and stuck in the house for a few days that I really enjoy. I think it is the reprieve and the downtime, as well as the scenery that I love.I am really hoping that this time we get what the meteorologists are forecasting. I would love to have a significant stretch of time to stitch and watch movies.

I’ve been tagged by Melissa! This is my first ever tag. I am supposed to list five “addictions” and then tag five others.

In no particular order:

1. Cross-stitch: that’s a given. I love to stitch. I have been stitching since I was 18 and a freshman in college. One of my dearest friends that I met in college taught me how, and I have loved it since.

2. Scrapbooking: I love scrapbook as much as I love to cross-stitch. I love to put photos, memories, and paper together. I attibute this love of photos + memories to my father, who documented our lives extensively through photos and home movies as my brother and I were growing up (and still does).

3. Reading: I love to read. Books, magazines, websites, pretty much anything. I can be perfectly content pretty much anywhere as long as I have something to read.

4. my iPod: this provides me endless hours of entertainment. Everything from music, to games, to audiobooks–I can even surf the net on it in a pinch.

5. Chocolate: I love it. I have a huge sweet tooth.

Since I really don’t know five people to tag, I am going to say that if you read my blog, consider yourself tagged. (and post me a comment, I love to read them! ).

Melissa, thank you for tagging me. (and thanks for the other new release suggestions! I am going to check those out.).

It is time to put my son to bed and he can’t find his Lambie that he sleeps with. I guess I better try to hunt it down. Then I am going to get my stitching back out while I watch a movie on TV with hubby. Hope everyone has a good start to the week.

Until next time,

 

Kellie

WOW! January 24, 2009

I have been checking out the Nashville releases at ABC Stitch Therapy this morning.  All I can say is WOW! There are tons of great designs coming out. Here are some of my particular favorites:

Love Blue Ribbon Designs! This is It’s Cold Outside. I will definately be ordering this.

Another Blue Ribbon Designs–called Read Between the Lines. Lovely!

Sarah Moon Ackworth Wooden Box–Sarah Moon is in my WIP pile. This would be a good incentive to get her back out and finished.

Victorian Memories Chaise Lounge by Cat’s Whiskers–I have never stitched one of these because I don’t think I could do the finishing, but they always fascinate me. I think they are beautiful.

Just a few things that caught my eye this morning…

Have a great weekend!

 

Kellie

Thursday January 22, 2009

No stitching to show today. I was out of town at a work conference yesterday rooming with some other people. I felt funny about getting my stitching out to work on it, even though I brought it with me. I am not sure why, but whatever the reason, I didn’ t stitch any yesterday. I plan to make up for it tonight while I watch Grey’s Anatomy and The Office (and possibly Private Practice if I can squeeze it in). I think I will pull Americana Sampling back out to work on as I really enjoyed stitching on it the other night. Or maybe Simple Gifts-Love that I have been enjoying as well.  I would have more finishes if I would stick with one thing, but I so enjoy variety.

I ordered some fabrics from Silkweaver this week. They are having a great 40% off sale on some selected colors. I got two cuts of Days Gone By. The week before Purely Primitive was the color of the week (one of my favorites!) and I ordered a cut of it as well. I love Silkweaver fabrics. I recently joined their fabric of the month club, and I have been very pleased with the fabrics that I am receiving. At the rate of their sales lately, I am going to go bankrupt.

No stitchy pictures to show today…

Happy Inauguration Day! January 20, 2009

In honor of this…

I decided to work on this….

LHN Americana Sampling WIP

 

I am proud to be an American every day, but today I felt especially patriotic and proud as I watched history being made in the peaceful transfer of power to our 44th President.

 

 

Kellie

Finally… January 19, 2009

I finally managed to sit down and focus on something for more than 10 minutes before switching to something else. I worked on Praiseworthy Stitches Simple Gifts-Love yesterday and today.  I started this one in late December, where I showed the very beginning in this post. After a lot of stitching yesterday and some today, here’s where it is now…

 

After reading Melissa’s blog asking for audiobook suggestions, it reminded me how much I enjoy listening to audiobooks as well. I picked an old favorite–Outlander by Diana Gabaldon–and listened and stitched away. The narrator, Davina Porter, does such an excellent job! If you love historical fiction or time travel, I highly recommend this whole series. It is my favorite series of all time.

I also picked up Mermaids of the Deep Blue today and worked on some beading and backstitching. Have I ever said how much I hate backstitching? I despise it. And I think Mirabilias are particularly difficult to backstitch even though there isn’t much of it. But I love Mirabilias so much that I do it anyway.

 

Please excuse all my wrinkles. I stitch in hand most of the time, and while I should iron them before I post pictures of them, I don’t usually.

Thank you for the well wishes yesterday. I love getting comments on my blog. I think I have a head cold. I feel about the same today, but it is always a good excuse to sit and stitch.

I am going to finish reading Breaking Dawn and then pull out a project to work on while I watch The Bachelor.

Until next time…

 

Kellie

Simply Live January 18, 2009

I have been so unfocused in my stitching lately. I want to stitch, but nothing is appealing to me. I keep picking something up and putting it down in favor of something else only to repeat the process. I started Snow. I think I worked on it one night before abandoning it…pitiful. Anyway. The only thing I have worked longer than ten minutes on this week has been Simply Live by Primitive Needle. Here’s where I am with it.

 

Now, will I continue to stitch on this today? Who knows! I need to stick to one piece and finish it. Maybe that will get me out of this funk.

I stayed home from church today. My throat is sore and I just don’t feel quite right. I really hope I am not coming down with something. I have to go out of town to a work related conference in the middle of the week, and the last thing I need is to be sick. I think a hot cup of tea and some blog browsing is in order. Maybe it will not only make me feel better but maybe I will see something that will motivate me to stitch on something long enough to show progress.

Until next time…

 

Kellie

Guess Where We Are Going… January 14, 2009

We are heading to Disney this spring!!! We can’t wait!!

We went last June, but Disney offered a great deal, and it is at a time that we can go with DH’s brother and his family. We have always wanted to go together, and it looks like we are finally going to have an opportunity. DS and their kids are so excited–they are making more plans than the adults are.

Stressful day at work today…….I am so glad it is over. I work at two different schools-three days at one and two days at another. And I like both of them. But they are each a full time job in and of themselves. And occasionally like today, there is more work to do in one day than can be accomplished in a week. Enough said…I really try not to dwell on it when I am at home.

I am debating on what to stitch tonight. I need a break from Kindness. (that sounds odd…) I am thinking I might start this…

Considering it going to be 4 degrees outside tonight with a wind chill of -10, I think it is appropriate. Stitchy pictures soon…

 

Kellie