June 9, 2009

9:30am...that's what time Miss Kasey Kay got me out of bed. I went to sleep after 3am. Doesn't she know by now that her Mom needs to sleep?! She has got to stop doing this to me! She's supposed to adjust to my schedule, not the other way around, darnit!

Well, I was up and bored, so I decided to go to Bath & Body Works in Elkton to take advantage of their Big Sale: Antibacterial soaps are 4/$10! I needed more Kitchen Lemon but they were out. Instead, I picked up some White Citrus and some Pineapple to try. I've never seen these scents before. I also purchased two bottles of the foaming antibacterial hand cleaner. Since I can't use the hand sanitizers made from alcohol because they burn my hands, these B&BW foaming hand cleaners are my best alternative. I love the Peppermint, but they only have it at Christmas. They should carry it year-round and change the packaging so it doesn't have candy canes on it. JMHO.

I had Mom's Garmin GPS unit and also went to Michael's at Christiana Mall. There, I found some goodies for "Thinking of You" gifts and possible exchanges, as well as some knitting needle point protectors that were on clearance, along with these leather and plastic "thimbles." As you can see, they're not the traditional thimbles we think of, but are worn as a ring between the first and second knuckles from the fingertip. I'm going to try them out and will let you know what I think. I use the point protectors for the tips of my embroidery scissors. One of my green ones has walked off, so these will be a perfect back-up supply.

Mom called as I was driving to Michaels to tell me that she'd be home at noon and would be able go to the LNS in Pennsylvania. I went back to the house and cleaned out the truck, which it needed anyway, and waited about an hour for Mom to get home. On our way through Newark, we stopped at Wawa so I could get my sub for lunch. Mom had already eaten, so I was on my own. I also picked up a salad for dinner and placed it in the little cooler I'd brought along.

So...Fireside Stitchery...sensory overload. OMG, it is amazing! They have so many different lines of fibers, all sorted by content. Silks in one section, cottons in another, wool on the other side, Wool/silk blends together. And wide aisles. It was so refreshing to walk into a shop in which you didn't have to worry about knocking over merchandise! (I apologize for not getting pictures...look HERE)

Of course the first thing that was said after, "Hello, welcome!" was, "Am I allowed to pet her?" I couldn't resist either of the pleading looks I received, so I had Kasey sit to be adored. The next question was, "May I get her a cup of water?" So I pulled out her collapsable bowl to which they exclaimed, "Mom comes prepared!" Judy plopped it down in the middle of an aisle for Kasey. I was surprised it wasn't put in an out-of-the-way place, but these were obviously doggy people.

I moved the water over to the Caron Watercolours section and Kasey flopped onto her side and took a nap. After pulling the Antique Jewel Tone colors for From Nancy's Needle's Amish Trip Around the World Quilt, I went to work increasing the purple-y-ness. I gathered the colors, after about an hour of switching out this fiber for that fiber, took a step back, and wasn't satisfied. I decided to pull the "Jewel Tones" Nancy gave as a selection and was much happier with them. I made one switch, from #5 Perle DMC 996 to Watercolours Ocean Breeze. We all agreed that the 996 stood out too much for us. This is the final selection in the order they appear, top to bottom, from the center out. I've substituted three regular DMC skeins for the #5 Perle cottons that are on order so that you can at least see the colors.














The colors are:
DMC #5 Perle 602-Cranberry
Watercolours 037-Fuchsia
DMC #5 Perle 915-Plum
Watercolours 209-Iris
DMC #5 Perle 333-Violet Blue
Watercolours 181-Ocean Breeze
Watercolours 068-Mediterranean
DMC #5 Perle 3814-Aquamarine
Watercolours 041-Blueberry

Oh, yeah...I was just supposed to make a shopping list, right? HaHaHaHaHaHaHa! Puh-LEEZE! I was in so much denial! I couldn't walk out without buying anything after all the help I received. There was no way I'd do that!

After more than an hour working on ATATWQ, during which time Mom did her own browsing and kitting up, I might add, I started on chart number two, Desert Star by From Nancy's Needle. Of course, it's another quilt square. I purchased both of these for $2.00 at the EGA stash swap last fall.

The purple-y-ness continues! I am very excited to see this one completed. It may be my next WIP, but we will have to see. This picture also shows the colors in the order they'll appear in the center motif, from the middle out.













They are:
DMC #5 Perle 327-Dark Violet
Gold Rush 14 286C-Purple Metallic
Watercolours 233-Glacier
Watercolours 209-Iris
DMC #5 Perle 209-Light Violet
Gold Rush 14 286C-Purple Metallic
Watercolours 146 Moonglow

Believe it or not, Mom spent almost twice as much as I did! I thought I would break the bank but only spent $60. My LCKQ costed almost $40 just for the fibers, so I was very pleased to kit up two charts for an average of $30 each.

I'll have to get Mom to send a pic of her stash, but she purchased a series also by From Nancy's Needle. She took home Spring and Summer, kitted up Spring, and ordered Autumn and Winter. She would like to have them all displayed together in frames when she (I'm on standby, though) completes the stitching.

I cannot say enough about the wonderful service we received! We had so much help kitting up our projects. Mom and I both want to go back already. I never even looked at fabric because I was so engrossed in all the fibers arrayed before my eyes. Not only that, but we were there half an hour after they closed but not a word was said to rush us on our way. I'll also be sure to take pictures next time! Fireside Stitchery is definitely at the top of my list for Favorite LNS!

The drive home was interesting, to say the least! Instead of getting stuck on south-bound I-95 in rush hour around Wilmington, DE, we drove East on Rt 30 in Pennsylvania to meet up with Rt 10 south. The entire way we were behind storms. The lightning shot across the sky in front of us. We saw several strikes that looked like they hit the ground. The light show was amazing. Somehow we managed to stay on the outer bands of it, never getting into the severe part of the storm.

Upon arriving back at the house, I opened the door from the garage into the kitchen to the mass destruction of Hurricane Ricco. Mom and Dad were told that Ricco was afraid of storms, but someone has always been home when one hit. This time Ben was at work and were were up in Pennsylvania. The poor guy was panting like he'd run a hundred-mile race so it was obvious he was very upset.

Directly inside the door, the paper shredder was on its side, confetti-sized pieces of paper strewn across the kitchen floor.

I took two steps forward and looked into the living room. I covered my mouth and said, "OhMyGod!" All I could think was that Dad would have a conniption fit-good thing he was out of town. The carpet padding (the rug is out being cleaned) was in a huge pile with small chunks all over the place. This is what it looked like after Mom straightened it out.

Jake's bed and pillow were both pulled into the kitchen from the laundry room, and the baby gate was knocked over.

Somehow Ricco managed to eat Kasey's dinner without ripping the Ziploc bag is was in. We think the force of it falling off the counter popped it open. Still, he ate Kasey's dinner and I didn't have any extra. Ben picked up a small bag, for which I paid a king's ransom, on his way home from work.

I went upstairs to discover the mess he made there. Thank goodness the basement door was closed! He would've gotten all three floors if that were the case. Anyway, Ricco dumped out the trash can beside my bed (there was alot more trash under the pillow),

pulled the pillow off the bed, pulled the blankets down, flipped my overnight bag, pulled the pillow and blanket off the quilt rack, and pulled the clothes out of my bag.



In my bathroom, Ricco rearranged the rugs. The rug in front of the door should have been covering the middle of the area of open floor and the rug beside it was carried from the spot from which I took the picture. The yellow bath mat also should have been behind where I was standing when I took the picture.

I think that's all. Needless to say, the next time a storm is forcasted and no one will be home with him, Hurricane Ricco will be crated to forestall his devistation. I told Mom she was lucky becuase he could have shredded the furniture instead. I wouldn't want to be around for that!

Ricco calmed down shortly after Mom and I returned home. He stayed in the kitchen/dining room with us but averted his eyes and put his ears down whenever someone talked to or looked at him. He knew he had been a bad boy!

Mom wanted to give the dogs a treat and see if she could get all three to sit at once. I told her that all she had to do in order for Kasey to sit was to have a treat in her hand. Sure enough, as soon as Kasey saw treats, her butt hit the floor. She started out sitting beside Ricco but kept scooching forward while Mom got Ricco and Jake to sit. She's a super scoocher, too, as is evident by her final position. She wasn't getting left out of Treat Time! Talk about food motivated!