Tying up Loose Ends

Kasey and I have some overdue thank-yous to say.

First, to Amy M. for the wonderful Advent gifts. WOW! You absolutely blew me away! I was also happy to hear that you and the kids enjoyed everything I picked out for you.

Before I left for Mom's I opened my last gift. I'd alread opened my Christmas Eve gift because it was broken, but I'm enjoying it nonetheless. It's a 22 oz Yankee Candle in "Holiday Twinkle" scent. I love it!
My 'big gift' for Christmas Day was a $25 gift certificate to...
WAWA!!




It's rechargable, so I'm keeping this bad boy around!





Next, I have to thank Debi for the beautiful tin she sent. It's finished into a sewing kit, with magnetic top and even a LoRan needlecase with 4 needles in it. The bottom has a fabric cushion and strip so that a pair of scissors will fit inside and not flop around. Thank you for such a thoughtful gift. The finishing looks great, D, and I will treasure it always! As ever, your stitching on the top is beautiful.




Last, but not least, Kasey wants to thank Tilly M. (Debi's furbaby) for the great Santa toy! She broke him in immediately after I gave him to her by putting him on her couch and rolling all over him.

Tilly, enjoy your Snowman! Your mom tells me you love your new toy, too.

December 23, 2008

Well, we're here! Kasey and I arrived safely at Mom's around 9pm. I forgot the bag of fabric I wanted to use to make QSnap covers for my 11" snaps but I remembered everything else. Mom was finishing up my little brother's quilt and I stitched, YES! I stitched, her initials and the year onto the border for her. It took about an hour, but I finally got it done. I guess that tells you how enthused about stitching I am right now. It's a good thing I'm not going for 100 finishes next year, at the rate I'm going!

Mom and I watched The Redneck 12 Days of Christmas, My Big Redneck Wedding, and Larry the Cable Guy's Christmas Extravaganza on CMT as she was tying the last few knots on Ben's quilt. She took it downstairs to wash it but decided to lay it out on her bed to see it first. As she was checking to make sure the batting wasn't bunched up anywhere she felt something hard in one corner and started laughing. She said a pen came apart as she and Ms. Sheila were working on it, but they never thought to look for the pieces. The ink cartridge and the endcap wound up inside the quilt!! Back upstairs she went and ripped out the seam to remove the pieces of the pen. I'm glad she thought it was funny, cuz I didn't want to deal with a ticked off Mother last night! All's well now as she got it stitched back together. NOW it's finished, washed, and ready to give to Ben on Christmas. I will get a picture later Wednesday so you can see Mom's completed UFO. She started this thing in 1984 and says now that it was way over her head and she'll NEVER do another! It looks great, though!

The slump continues, so there's no stitching other than Mom's initials on the quilt. I'll get back to it sometime...

Before I left home I opened Day 23's gift. Amy sent me some beautiful French embroidery scissors with purple handles! Now I have three pairs of scissors, a true collection! Hehe.

I'm pressed for time so I'll have to put double the freebies on tomorrow's post. I haven't run out of links so I will continue after Christmas as well. If you find any that I haven't posted, just email them to me at

bethxs@yahoo.com and I'll add them to future posts. I have lots of saved files of freebies on my computer but I'm reluctant to put them on my blog for fear of copyright infringement, so please only send web links, not files.

December 22, 2008

Today was busy! First I went to the post office to mail the remainder of my Christmas cards. After that I had to go to three different Wawas to get my iced tea and a sub. I couldn't believe my luck! My Wawa lost power and was using battery backup to keep their coolers going. Last week I couldn't buy anything there because their credit card system wasn't working.

I went to the Wawa on Rt 50 and as I was standing in line they announced that the credit card system just went down. The man in line in front of me said that he couldn't buy gas in Delaware this morning for the same reason.

I went home and put the spaghetti on the stove to warm because it was already 2:30 and my brother was supposed to arrive at 3pm. I called Ben to let him know I had to go across town to the Edgewater Wawa and have him stir our spaghetti when he got here. I can't believe all the people out shopping today! There was a mile-long backup for the Mall exit on Rt. 50. Thank Goodness I didn't have any more errands to run!

Ben was already here when I got back. And Kasey is NO guard dog! She was laying on the floor panting nervously so I put some Peace & Calming oil on each of her front feet. She settled down and went to sleep within five minutes and was perfectly fine with Ben being here after that.

After we polished off all the spaghetti I made last night we cleaned out the back seats of my truck so that I can put them down to expand my cargo area. Now there's a place for Kasey to lay behind the front seats. I've started loading everything into the "way back" in preparation for going to Mom's.

I talked to my neighbor's daughters today and asked them to keep an eye on the house for me. Their puppy was outside running loose so I let Kasey out to play with her. Daisy fawns all over Kasey and the two of them love playing together. They ran around our yards for about a half hour before I went outside and walked next door. The only way we can get Daisy back inside is if Kasey "leads" her. It works beautifully! Whenever Daisy gets loose they ask me to let Kasey out and she "catches" the puppy for us.

After Ben finished cleaning out the front passenger floorboard of his car we took the trash and recycling down to the end of the driveway. On the way down we passed my other neighbor. Tom hasn't seen Ben since he was little and didn't even know who he was. That made me laugh. Running into him like that gave me the chance to let him know, too, that I would be gone. So now both neighbors will be watching the house for me. Everyone offered to check on the cats for me, but I let them know they'd be okay while I was gone. It just makes me feel better to know they'll all be keeping an eye out.

I made myself leave the computer alone this evening and wrapped all my Christmas gifts. There weren't alot this year but I have a little something for everyone. I also wrapped my little sister's birthday present. Sarah turns 23 tomorrow. Happy Birthday, Pee Wee! Love ya!

The only things left on my to-do list are to pick up Kasey's brush from the Muddy Paw Wash and to pack our stuff. The truck is ready to go, except for stopping on the way out of town to get gas. I'm leaving earlier than planned because bad weather is moving in on Wednesday. I don't want to drive 80 miles in bad weather!

I found this chart and measuring tape in the package for Day 22. The chart is Star Delight by Needlemania and the tape measure almost matches the colors in it! This is going straight into my sewing kit! Thank you once again, Amy! Now Debi and I can stitch SD together! She already has the chart.

Use the links across the top of the page to find even more freebies, including monthly quilt squares:
http://juggybugdesigns.weebly.com/index.html

craftdesigns4you.com has both cross stitch and plastic canvas charts:
http://www.craftdesigns4you.com/free.htm

December 21, 2008

So it's four days 'til Christmas and I'm not ready. I was going to wait until Thursday to leave to stay with my family but have moved up my departure to Wednesday morning. We're playing a joke on my brothers on Christmas Day and I want to be there to see Ben's reaction. I won't be there when Ian arrives because I'm going to my grandmother's for breakfast with my father's side of the family.

With my departure being moved up, I have that much less time to get everything together. Tonight I finished addressing my Christmas cards for the CSE card exchange. Unfortunately money is too tight to send cards to my friends who weren't in the exchange. If that includes you, please know I'm sending you best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Am I the only one who hasn't wrapped anything yet? Yep, you read right: I haven't even started wrapping gifts. Actually, I haven't even gotten them all together yet. I still have gifts scattered around the house. I don't have to worry about Wes finding anything because he's already in Florida to spend Christmas with friends.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get the truck cleaned out so I can put the back seats down. I've found through experience that Kasey settles down better on long trips if she's directly behind the front seats. If I leave the back seats up and put her in the "way back" she spends the entire trip sitting with her head resting on the back of the seats, watching to make sure I don't leave her. If the back seats are down and I put all my stuff in the cargo area by the back door and leave room for her behind the front seats she will lay down and relax. Since we're going to be at Mom's for a week I want this to be as stress-free as possible for her.

Don't worry about Chet and Piper, though. Yes, they'll be home for a week without me, but my neighbors are excellent house sitters. I have the benefit of having life-long neighbors on one side and they keep an eye on the house anyway because they know Wes isn't here. Chet and Piper will probably take over the house while we're gone, but they won't have anything to get into at least.

Still on my to-do list is to go to the Muddy Paw Wash and get Kasey's brush they didn't give back to me when she was groomed last, wrap all the gifts, clean out the truck, pack for both me and Kasey, get the truck loaded with everything that's going with us, clean out the refrigerator.

Oh! Did I mention that I have to do all of this tomorrow?! I have dialysis on Tuesday (holiday schedule) so tomorrow is it. My plan is to wake up on Wednesday, put my laptop, purse, and Kasey in the truck, and head to Mom's. I'll let you know how it goes.

Yeah, and my brother Ben is coming for lunch tomorrow. He'll be here at 3pm to share spaghetti with me. It's already made so it just has to be heated. Actually, I mis-spoke. I made Angel Hair pasta, not spaghetti, and I made a meat sauce using Barilla Roasted Garlic & Mushroom pasta sauce. I don't like tomatoes, but I love Barilla's sauces.

I'm sure I've neglected to mention some of the things still left to do, but I'm sure I'll get everything done. If worst comes to worst I'll just leave later on Wednesday. There's no set time I have to be at Mom's.

I opened Day 21's gift and found the 6th and last movie in the Love Comes Softly series. The DVD of Love's Unfolding Dream completes my set! Thank you Amy!!

This site has lots of different crafts, not just cross stitch. I just couldn't resist Billy Bear! He's just too cute!
http://www.billybear4kids.com/holidays/christmas/crafts.htm

Go to Stitch Alley to see page after page of free designs:
http://stitchalley.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4&zenid=76f1902406e5762e3a4468bed6679e07

December 20, 2008

Today I tried to stitch while watching movies. I put in a couple stitches while watching the end of The Polar Express but that was it. Today's total stitch count: 5 x's. I forgot to include the tent stitches I did on the PPB when I was adding up my total stitches for the month. I counted 78 tent stitches (1/2 x-stitch), so my total is 109 at this point. It's still pathetic, just not as abjectly pathetic as I thought.







This is Day 20 in the Advent Exchange. Today's gift is Jeremiah Junction's Quilt Squares 3, 30 More! This is another chart (or one very similar) that at one point was on my wish list. I love the mini quilt squares! I'm adding these to my collection.

Here's another site I almost forgot about. DMC has patterns for all their different lines of floss:
http://www.dmc-usa.com/majic/pageServer/1z010000ky/en_US/Free-Cross-Stitch-Designs.html

Especially for my friend Kathy, here is a free Hardanger design:
http://www.roland-designs.com/freecharts.htm

December 19, 2008

Not much to tell you about today, but I have some good news. Please keep healing thoughts and prayers going out to my friend Carol's mother. Carol's mom had two heart attacks on Monday and was airlifted to Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC. On Tuesday, Mrs B had quintuple (that's 5!) bypass surgery. The surgeon found six clots blocking the arteries around her heart. Mrs B is on the mend and I hope she continues to do so.

I have honestly felt like crap all week, but the bright spot to each day has been opening my Advent gifts from Amy. Today I found Cross Stitch Maniac by Forever In My Heart. I love "stitchy" sayings but I have to admit that I've not seen this before. I love it! Debi said it's definitely me.

Here are some beautiful designs featuring Caron products:
http://www.caron-net.com/magazine.html

Keeping with the season this is a free chart from Gloria & Pat:
http://www.gloria-pat.com/resources/x2000_free.html

December 18, 2008

I had another horrible night of sleep last night, but I was able to get up and go to the stitching group that meets at the local Barnes & Noble store. I arrived an hour late and yet there were still ladies there! I was the only stitcher; everyone else was knitting. I admired one of the scarves I saw, as well as some of the work being done. I might have to find out from Carol if she can make the handwarmers I saw!
Are you ready for this? I stitched again! I put four whole stitches in Live Laugh Survive & Thrive at the meeting. Over an hour...four stitches...I suck!

Here's this month's total stitches:
16 eyelets
6 Rhodes squares (4 were over-two, meaning tiny)
4 cross stitches

How pathetic is that? I'm thankful I can stitch, but this is just... *Primal Scream* Frustrating!

This is how much I want to stitch:
I arrive at the meeting, sit down and introduce myself. Get out my kit and sewing bag. Listen to the conversation for a while. Put the fabric in QSnaps. Decide to cut off the extra length, so take the fabby out of the snaps. Cut slowly not crossing threads, so it stays square. Listen to more conversation and join in here and there. Put the fabby back in the QSnaps. Opps, take it out to measure the center, mark with marking pin. Put the fabby back in the snaps. Read the directions. Sit and listen to conversation while taking the fabby out of the snaps to mark the center of the left side with another marking pin. Now put in four stitches, s-l-o-w-l-y. Time to go!

Can you get any better at procrastinating? The thing that frustrates me is that my mind keeps telling me "stitch, stitch, stitch." Maybe when that voice is silenced and isn't nagging me I'll actually get back to it! LoL!

While chatting about my slump, Frishawn had this to say:

"well...at least we mere stitching mortals can get a few stitches in while the goddess is down for the count."

I laughed my head off!! Thank you, Frishawn. You made my day! Goddess I am NOT, but thank you for the compliment!

Yet again, my search for knitting needle tip-protectors (for the tips of my embroidery scissors) came up fruitless. I went to the Yarn Garden and purchased stretcher bars for my Purple Passion Butterfly. The QSnap just wasn't working. Unfortunately both sets of my stretcher bars are 9" and PPB is 8". I was amazed YG had them, although I almost missed them because of all the clutter in the store. They REALLY need a bigger space so they can spread out. ADA compliant, they are NOT! No way can a person in a wheelchair get around in there!

So I asked about the tip protectors and they didn't have them, just the plastic thing I bought last time that I really don't like. I went to Michaels and saw them, but they're packaged and I wasn't sure what size to get. I need to try them on my embroidery scissors before I buy them. Once they're opened, I can't return them if they don't work.

I also went to West Annapolis to the quilt shop there as the lady at YG suggested. They looked at me like I was crazy and said they don't even sell embroidery scissors, but the ladies were very nice. I guess they were thinking "why would she come here looking for those?"

And folks, I can NOT go back there! The purple-y-ness kept jumping out at me! I WANT! I WANT! Purple quilts hanging all around! I was in heaven! I want those fabbies! They would finish my stitching beautifully!

You may even hear of me taking a quilting class in the future sometime. I need to get better with my sewing skills, and quilting would teach me how to make fabric borders around my stitching for wall hangings and even ornaments. As I was talking to Debi tonight it hit me: the perfect finish for my Dinky Dyes quilt squares! Making them into a quilt and hanging it! It's the only way I'll have enough room to display them all at once. I'm sure I can find a fabric that uses my colors and will look good around the stitched pieces.

After arriving home from the quilt shop I decided I wanted something for dinner that would provide leftovers for a couple days. So I took the corned beef brisket from the fridge and set it to boil on the stove. I called Mom and got her Orange Sauce recipe and drained a large can of sweet potatoes. I added a can of mandarin oranges to the colander. I prepared the orange sauce and poured it over the sweet potatoes and orange sections in the baking dish. I even steamed peas and pearl onions to have along with the Bob Evans mashed potatoes I had in the fridge.

Ohhhh! Did I eat too much! I was more stuffed tonight than I was at Thanks-giving dinner. I just looooove corned beef brisket, though! How easy can something be? Buy a seasoned brisket, freeze it til you're ready to use it. Thaw it in the fridge. Boil with pickling spice (included) for a couple hours (about 1 hr per pound) til fork tender. Voila!

Make your sides and you have a very filling dinner for the family! Just beware: approximately 1/3 the weight is fat. Make sure you get enough. Uncle Wes and I can almost eat an entire 2lb brisket in one meal.

I sat and read email while chatting with Debi and Frishawn this evening until I decided to soak in the bathtub. Aahh! I felt soo much better when I got out! An hour and a half with just me, the hot water, and my book...Heaven.

Once again Amy has gone above and beyond the call of duty in the CSE Advent Exchange. Today's package included both the Winter Quilt chart from Imaginating and Love's Unending Legacy DVD, the fifth in the Love Comes Softly series. I'm just flabbergasted by your generosity, Lady! Thank you!!

I think this chart was on my wishlist at some point. I remember seeing it and saying to myself that the colors are perfect for me.

I also adore mini quilt squares and would like to find a quilt with enough simple squares to make one of the 15-sided biscornus. If you need it translated, look for the Google Translator (Russian? to English) link in previous posts, but I thought she did an excellent job with the pictures. If you know how to make a biscornu, the method is the same. You just need more panels and you connect five of themfor the top and bottom.

These tutorials are on Cameo Roze's site. She shows you how to make bellpulls, tote bags, easels, needlerolls, and several different types of ornament finishes. I think you can get lost in all her pages, so I definitely wanted to point these out to you:
http://www.cameoroze.com/completions/index.htm

I thought this one was great! Talk about easy and fun: make a t-shirt into a tote bag!
http://www.joann.com/static/project/0807/P229646.pdf

Here are some cute tags from Moonlight Inspirations:
http://www.moonlightinspirations.com/free-cross-stitch-patterns.htm

Is there a bird lover in your family? If so, check out X-Stitch Birds' freebies:
http://www.xstitchbirds.com/Free%20Charts.htm

Here's another site of bird freebies. If you like, you can join her Yahoo group to find out when new free charts are added:
http://www.birdcrossstitch.com/

Did you like Ebb Tide? Would you enjoy stitching a similar design by Northern Pine Designs? Look here:
http://www.northernpinedesigns.com/freedesign.html

December 16-17, 2008

Tuesday was just a "blah" day for me. I didn't feel well so just slept and watched television. Just to show how rotten I felt, I opened this from Amy for Day 16 of the CSE Advent Exchange and didn't even open it yet! They're my favorites...and Kasey loves them, too. Chet just turns his nose up at them but that leaves more for Kay and me!

I also received this package of goodies from Kathy C on Monday. She included Moose Lemonade (No, Glenda, it's MINE!), Bellagio hot chocolate mixes, an angel ornie, maple candy, and two charts: Dear Santa It's Me Again by Sue Hillis and Mother's Day envelope by Lynne Nicoletti. Thank you so much K! I loved the Mad Maxine card, too!

Today was a dialysis day and I actually stitched again! I've only stitched twice in the last two and a half weeks but today I decided to work on another needlepoint project by Northern Pine Designs. This is the Purple Passion Butterfly kit I bought for $3 at the EGA stash swap in November.

Since I didn't stitch at home, and haven't since November, I don't think I can consider the slump over. I tried to stitch when I got home, but it just didn't happen. When I saw my Day 17 gift from Amy I thought it inspired me. Instead, I read the news online and watched the Muppets-Letters to Santa and Home for the Holidays. Story of my slump! lol That's how it works when I'm not in a stitching mood; everything distracts me. I honestly thought I'd start stitching but only got so far as getting the Jobelan out of my stash cabinet. I took a second picture later when I opened the kit so you can see everything better.

Once again, Amy spoiled me! Today's gift was a limited edition kit by Dinky Dyes & The Cat's Whiskers Design Studio,
'Love Laugh Survive & Thrive' scissors slide and the 'Pink Snips' by Kelmscott Designs. Included in the kit were the Dinky Dyes silk ribbon and limited edition 'Hope' silk floss and a specially chosen bead from Goody Beads.

December 15, 2008

There's not much to say about today, so I won't bore you with the non-happenings. But I did open the Day 15 gift from Amy and found another chart from my wish list! It's Patriotic Wishes Volume I! This is going with Volume II that I'm planning on stitching next year! Also included is this very pretty purple scissors fob. Thank you, Amy!

After driving back and forth to the Eastern Shore Thursday and Friday, and my weekend away from home, I have to admit that I don't feel that great. I'm not sure whether I'm coming down with something or if I feel like this because of being away from home for the last four and a half days. It's going to be an early night tonight, but I wanted to make sure I got caught up on my blog before I go to sleep.

You can find ancient hand woven rugs influenced cross stitch charts and modernised blackwork charts blended with cross stitches at Seba Designs.
http://www.sebablackworks.blogspot.com/

Scroll down to reach Dancing Violet's free designs, but pause on the way to take a look at their stitched t-shirts.
http://dancingvioletdesigns.homestead.com/index.html

December 13-14, 2008

Since this was the first weekend Kasey has come to Mom's with me, I was very surprised she let me sleep in this morning. We had a pretty uneventful day, just watching White Christmas while Mom decorated her Christmas cards and going to see Dad play music at the VFW in Sparks, MD.
Did y'all hear me scream? I opened a BEAUTIFUL chair caddy for Day 13! It has little pockets on the inside top to hold scissors and other little stuff, and a big pocket for everything else...and it's PURPLE! Also, one side of the pillow filling is rice or something like that, and the other side is fiberfill, so it won't fall off the arm of the chair. Inside the large pocket I found this little sachet.

Amy, did you make this? I love the fabrics! Mom loves it, too, and she tried to steal it. She left it on the table when she went to bed, so I made sure to take it up to my room with me!

Mom went to bed shortly after we got home from the VFW because Dad has another gig in the morning that she's going to. By the time I woke up Mom and Dad had already left. Kasey, Jake, and I had the house to ourselves all day. I spent most of Sunday on the couch in the family room with the pellet stove cranking out the heat. It was heavenly! I never even got out of my pj's.
I stitched tonight! Can you believe it? I finally got those eyelet stitches completed but the row of Rhodes stitches below it was giving me fits. Or, more specifically, the DMC Light Effects was the problem. I kept mis-counting and had to frog, then I saw that one strand had broken so I needed to start over again. That's about as far as I got, as my eyes kept feeling like they were going to close so I gave up.

Mom and I played a game of Skip-Bo before we went to bed. I thought I'd read once I went upstairs but didn't get nearly as far as I wanted to. By 1am my light was out.

Day 14's gift is the fourth in the Love Comes Softly series, Love's Abiding Joy. I can't wait to have a Love Comes Softly movie day and watch all of these together! Amy, I don't think I can ever thank you enough. You said you wanted to make this my best Christmas ever and you have certainly succeeded! This exchange has gone beyond all my expectations.

Yes, I know! I owe you more freebies.

I just found this site and love the geometric designs. Enjoy the music as you browse:
http://www.pelintezer.com/withmycompliments.htm

I'm in love with the bluebird I saw here:
http://www.freexstitchpatterns.com/

I've been collecting the parts to this SAL as they've been released. These blocks can also be stitched separately, maybe even as panels for a biscornu? The possibilities are endless:
http://www.catiacrafts.com/SAL.html

Another French site, but some beautiful designs. You can easily translate it by putting the URL into Google Translator and choosing French to English:
http://echevette.over-blog.com/article-3911091.html

Layden With Stitches shows you how to convert a photo to cross stitch chart. She also includes links to free charts.
http://laydenwithstitches.4t.com/catalog_1.html

Don't be afraid when you see the text on this page, just click the British flag and everything will be translated for you. It may already be translated in this link:
http://www.magicstitch.ru/index2.html

December 11-12, 2008

I know I was MIA all day Thursday and Friday, but it was not because of being sick! I went to my friend Mary Ann's on Thursday morning (YES, I said morning!) to help get her Christmas tree up. She told me that she wasn't putting it up unless I was there to do the ornaments, so I agreed to go over to Preston to "ornament" her tree. Since she will only use a real tree, she has to do the lights. I refuse to get all itchy doing that!

When I arrived at 1pm I found out the heat wasn't working. A serviceman had been there on Monday to replace a transformer so Mary Ann thought that maybe the new one was blown by a power surge they had. Millicent (Mary Ann's 85-year-old mother) and I froze our patooties off once the sun went down. The service guy didn't arrive until 7pm. We had finally turned on the space heater around 6:00 because it was getting a little colder than our jackets and socks would handle.

Apparently there is air in the oil line so it has to be replaced, but the serviceman was able to put a regulator on the line to take care of the problem until someone could come back during the day to replace it. Mac wasn't too happy to hear that and I can't say that I blame her! Why does stuff like that always have to happen during the holidays?

This is my Day 11 Advent gift. I think I see a pattern here...now I have the third movie in the Love Comes Softly series, Love's Long Journey!! Thank you, Amy!

I arrived back in Annapolis on Friday just in time to get to dialysis. I had a pretty uneventful treatment and went home after stopping by the RiteAid to get some lightbulbs for Mom.

Since I saw on my way home that Rt 50 was backed up, I wasn't in a hurry to get mine and Kasey's stuff together. I would much rather start for Mom's later than sit in Bay Bridge traffic. Oh, the joys of being an Annapolitan whose almost-entire family lives on the Eastern Shore! I just got back from there this afternoon and now I'm heading over again! At least it gave me some time to do a few things (like open Days 11&12 Advent gifts)

Kasey got more and more excited as she saw her bowls, then baggies of food, and even toys go into a bag. When I picked it up to take it to the truck she was right beside me. She hopped into the "way-back" while I put everything in the back seat. One more trip inside to grab a couple more things and then we were on our way! I think we ended up leaving around 7:45 and arrived at Mom's around 9-ish.

Mom and I talked for a while, played a game of Skip-Bo and then took some wrapping supplies downstairs from the craft room. Since Ian has moved out, Mom's using his old room as her "Christmas Room" and we're all banned from entering. She's given me a weekend pass to help wrap and write Christmas cards, though. Of course, I forgot to bring some of the gifts I wanted to leave here, as well as my Christmas cards, though! GRR!

Anyway, that was my exciting two days. I'm trying to catch up on emails but I have a feeling that won't happen until Tuesday. Mom has a bunch of stuff she wants me to help with tomorrow, and then I'm going with her to see Dad play music at a VFW. I forgot which one or I'd tell you...

Oh, WOW! Day 12's Advent gift is from my stitching wish list! It's Amethyst Sewing Bag by Cherished Stitches! Isn't this perfectly purple?! I see alot of purple floss in my future stash orders!

I'm falling asleep as I write this, so I will get yesterday's and today's freebies posted later...goodnight

December 10, 2008

First off, I'm sure your ears are telling you I've added a playlist to my blog. My favorite Christmas movie is White Christmas. I have it and Holiday Inn on DVD. I watch both of them throughout the year. Uncle Wes just shakes his head when he hears them. I love Bing Crosby's voice and his version of White Christmas is my favorite carol.

That being said, if you don't care to listen to my choices as you read, please feel free to push the pause button. You'll find the playlist on the sidebar just below the Quote of the Day.

May I suggest, though, that if you want a laugh, please listen to Dominick the Donkey. I heard this on a Philadelphia radio station while I was visiting my mom and almost had to pull the truck over, I was laughing so much. It's a riot! I was even on the radio the last time I was up there, requesting the DJ play it for Mom.

If you're more into hymns, O Holy Night is one of my favorites and I've included Perry Como's version. I also chose a song by Garth Brooks, Belleau Wood, because it brings tears to my eyes each time I hear it. It's the true story of the Christmas Day Truce during WWI. It's just a gorgeous song in my opinion. I hope you enjoy my selections.


Yes, so I've gone on long enough about the songs. Here's Day 10 of the Advent Exchange. Amy sent this chart pack of gorgeous smalls. It's Blue Ribbon Designs' My Precious Treasures and includes charts and finishing instructions for the Shaker box lid, scissor fob, pinkeep, needlebook, scissor case, and sweet bag. Look at all those purples! I love it!!

Still no stitching today, but keep the positive thoughts winging my way. I'll get back to it eventually.

Ready for more freebies?

I saw this one posted to a Yahoo group today, but it reminded me of its existence. Michaels has tons of freebies on their site! These are just the cross stitch designs: http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectlist?categoryid=30

Or you can go to www.michaels.com, choose your craft (scrapbooking, yarn & needlework, etc.) and then use the "Find Great Ideas" drop-down menu for even more projects!

Need more biscornu patterns? You can find some here, along with many other designs:
http://www.cross-stitch-directory.com/

December 9, 2008

I stitched, I stitched! I did three whole eyelet stitches at my two-hour-long stitch-in. Pathetic, right? Yes, I know! But it's three more stitches than when I got there, anyway. I guess that just goes to prove I'm in a serious stitching slump. It happens...

Carol B brought these cute packages to our meeting for each of us, as well as a cinnamonny votive candle. She kitted up a Lizzie*Kate freebie,
"Joy." I love how she put it all together! Everything is there to stitch it and to finish it, too! Thank you, Carol!!

My Day 9 present in the CSE Advent Exchange included "Stitcher's Motto" by Plum Pudding Needleart and "Cadoozles" mechanical pencils. I decided to share some of the pencils with a few of the girls in Heirloom Stitchers. They went great with the little notebooks I included in their gift bags, and there are plenty left for me! I love the saying in the PPN chart "Home is where you hide your stash" although there's no hiding mine!

More than 50 free cross stitch patterns can be found here. Beware: BAP's ahead!
http://www.pinoystitch.org/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=84

Yiotas-xstitch has freebies for many different tastes. She also has more designs that can be downloaded for a fee.
http://www.yiotas-xstitch.com/freebies.php

December 8, 2008

Day 8's present was the Love's Enduring Promise DVD, the second in the Love Comes Softly series! Amy, you've out-done yourself! Thank you so much! Now I can delete this one from my DVR, too.

Rick's Charts has some beautiful designs, but most require membership in his Yahoo Group. I joined and immediately downloaded the chart I wanted, so it's not hard. There are a few freebies available here for those who don't wish to join another group:
http://www.rickscharts.com/astore/index.php?main_page=free

Have you been to freepatternsonline.com? Well, you should! There are free cross stitch and quilting patterns, as well as forums to post completed projects, and a stitching shop where you can buy leaflets, quilting supplies, and magazine subscriptions. Check it out!
http://www.freepatternsonline.com/

December 7, 2008

Okay, I'm definitely in a slump stitching-wise. I watched movies and shows from my DVR all day long. Turner Classic Movies showed musicals all day on Thanksgiving Day and I recorded some of them. I watched the end of Swiss Family Robinson when I woke up, then saw Guys and Dolls and Fiddler on the Roof.

I opened Day 7's gift in the Advent exchange and received Checkered Liberty by M Designs. I've never seen this before but I love it! Here's another being added to my stack for next year. Thank you, Amy!

Here's another quilting page for the quilters out there:
http://www.quilthood.com/pages/patterns

Need a finishing tutorial? Here is a site with directions for pillows, fabric-lined bags, bellpulls, nametags, and ornaments.
http://www.tkdchick.com/tutorialindex.html

I thought this was an appropriate chart for today:
http://militaryxstitch.com/FLAGFREE.JPG

December 6, 2008-Blog Candy!

OMG! Amy went to my Amazon wish list and purchased Love Comes Softly as my Day 6 gift! I love this series of movies! I know alot of people have also read the books. I haven't but they're on my to-read list. I watch this movie over and over, so this DVD will see some use! Now I can free up some space on my DVR by deleting the recording.

While you're here reading this, will you please scroll up to the icon in the sidebar and click on the icon for the Animal Rescue Site. Every click provides .6 bowl of food for animals in shelters. Lately, there haven't been enough clicks to feed them, so please help!

Also, if you haven't already-and even if you have-please take a moment to send a(nother) card to our military personnel overseas. Choose a card design, a message, and submit. Xerox will take care of the printing and mailing for you. It means alot for them to hear from us! You can even send more than one; let the kids each write their own messages, too!

Okay, I'm off my soapboxes.

Would anyone like the chart for Ebb Tide by Northern Pine Designs? If so, please leave a comment for this post and I will put the names in a cup to draw from in one week. I've decided not to stitch it again but if someone else can use it I will be happy to pass it on. I will include a 10x10" piece of 18ct Leventeen Blue canvas to stitch it on.

There are diagrams for each of the stitches, although I did some complaining about one of them facing the opposite direction from the way it has to be stitched. Also, don't forget to see the corrections page on the Northern Pine Designs site.

I know some of you are quilters, so here's a freebie for you!
http://www.everythingquilts.com/freepatterns.aspx

Here's another page with lots of different sewing projects, including quilts. My favorite is the roll-up caddy for all your sewing supplies. There's also a matching couch caddy!
http://www.marcusbrothers.com/makeit/index.html

December 5, 2008

Day 5's Advent package included a GORGEOUS needle case by Off the Grid Designs. According to the insert it's "Approved by the Society for Prevention of Unnecessary Injury Caused by Stray Sharp Objects" That just cracked me up! The workmanship is incredibly detailed. This is going right into my sewing kit! Amy also included a pack of #12 bead embroidery needles. These little guys are being put in the needle case because they're tiny!

I don't want to bore you with my uneventful day so I'll go straight to the freebies:

I know there are some of you out there whose stash has taken over. Here is some help in "Creating Order Out of Chaos":
http://needleartworks.com/thread/holman_creating_order.pdf

Need a printable shopping/inventory list? Here they are for many different manufacturers/brands:
A-M http://needleartworks.com/FIBERSYSTEM/CCPPage.htm
N-Z http://needleartworks.com/FIBERSYSTEM/CCPPage1.htm

If you're a fan of blackwork, take a look at http://www.blackworkarchives.com/#download. Scroll up for the links to free designs.

Ever wonder what the designer means when they tell you to grid your fabric? Here's a picture tutorial:
http://community.livejournal.com/cross_stitch/556458.html

I know these aren't all free design sites, but we all need some help in organizing and learning something new never hurt anyone. I hope you enjoy these as much as the free designs. More of both will be coming your way in future posts!

FYI-BEWARE, ENABLING! Kaleidostitch is going out of business. EVERYTHING is on sale! I shared her freebies with you earlier, but check out her catalog! Because of health reasons the site will be closing at the end of the year. My stitching gadget order has already been placed!

December 4, 2008

It's Day 4 of the CSE Advent Exchange. Today's package held the Happy Independence Day Bent Creek Snapper! This is a very cute design and looks like a quick stitch. I'm going to add this to my 2009 stitching pile, for sure! I don't understand the snaps, though.

I get why it's called a "snapper," yes, but can someone explain what benefit the snaps provide to the design? Honestly, *giggle* (growing up with 3 brothers is going to show here...) they look like nipples sticking out! I'm SORRY! I can't help it! They do! Why put silver snaps in the middle of a design that's all yellow, red, white, and blue?!

I woke up a little early and took Kasey to the Muddy Paw Wash to be groomed before heading to Mom's. The introduction between her and Jake went off without a hitch. Mom arrived home from work about 10 minutes after Kasey and I got there. I was sitting on the front steps with Jake on one side of me and Kasey on the other. Mom said it looked like Kasey had a "Mini Me." I laughed and told her that's what I'd just told Ms. Sheila next door, that we had a Golden and a Mini Golden.

Kasey behaved like the good girl she is, but I did use the Peace & Calming oil to settle her down some. She was a little excited and nervous at first but promptly chose a spot on Mom's stone-tiled floor and went to sleep. We had a relaxing evening, played some Skip-Bo, and did some searching online for rescue Goldens. Now that Mom knows Jake is okay with girls, she wants to get a Golden. She's been looking for a long time for when Jake passes, but now she doesn't want to wait to adopt another Golden.

Ready for the freebies? Here you go!

I just re-discovered this site and thought it was too cool not to share. Ever wonder what your Mirabilia, TW, or L&L design will look like on different hand-dyed fabbies? Well, now you can and you don't have to stitch them! If you have the address of your favorite design, you can put in its web address to "try" different fabbies, too! Check out http://www.stitching.jekdesign.com/FabricChoices.html

Here is the freebie page for Crossstitch.com. While you can join for $12 a year and receive unlimited downloads, I'm including this because they have a very nice free Breast Cancer Ribbon design. There are others as well, so stop by and take a gander.
http://crosstitch.com/free.shtml

Need to convert text into cross stitch or backstitch? This site will do it for you, in the style you choose.
http://www.stitchpoint.com/eng/tool/alph/_alphabet_generator.php

December 3, 2008

AKK! I got my posts all mixed up! That's what I get for opening my Advent Gifts 23 hours before making my posts! The needle minder was my Day 3 gift. Day 2's gift was Thread Heaven, which I don't stitch without! Thank you, Amy! I'll try to keep my days straight from now on!

Anyway, I didn't do any stitching today. I haven't made a stitch since last Friday, except for trying to put together a mattress pincusion on Sunday while Mom and I played cards.

I spent this evening watching tv, sad to say. First, I caught Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I know it's on every year, but I still love hearing Berl Ives sing! It's just one of those shows you have to watch every year. Like when The Wizard of Oz came on when my brothers and I were kids. It didn't matter how many times we saw it or how much the Wicked Witch of the West scared us, we just HAD to watch it when it came on television!

After Rudolph was over I watched this week's episodes of NCIS, The Unit, and The Mentalist from my DVR. I have a bunch of movies I recorded last week on TCM, so I'm slowly getting through them. My favorite so far was Darling Lili, where Julie Andrews plays a German spy during WWII. Rock Hudson co-stars. I loved it! That's one that's not getting deleted, so I can enjoy it again and again.

I hope you're having a more productive stitching week than I am! I won't be around much tomorrow, as I'm heading to Mom's in Elkton for the day. I have to introduce Kasey to Mom's dog, Jake. Please send prayers and good thoughts that he accepts her! He and his buddy, Gretta always hated other dogs, but I'm hoping now that Gretta has gone over the Rainbow Bridge that Jake will be okay with Kasey. I think that once he tells her he's the boss and she says "okay" things will be fine. I told Mom I wanted to introduce them while she's at work because I don't want Jake to have anyone to guard, and I didn't want him on a leash because he's defensive on one. I will let you know how it goes!

This blog is chock-full of beautiful needlework. There are freebies spread throughout, so browse to your heart's content! The freebies are downloadable as PDF's, which is very nice. At the top on the right, click the flags to change to the desired language, as she writes in French.
http://alarttex.wordpress.com/

Another page of freebies, this one from Aurelle, can be found here:
http://aurelle.over-blog.com/5-categorie-848077.html
It's also in French, but you can Google "Google Translator" and put the webpage address in the appropriate box and choose "French" to "English" and it will translate everything for you, although I pretty much understood where the links for the charts were without translating.

Happy stitching, everyone!

December 2, 2008

Besides running some errands I'm sure you don't want me to go into detail about, today was...well, boring to anyone who'd have to sit through a description of it. I'm feeling more like myself today but my hands are still too raw to do any stitching or finishing. I think the stitched gifts I was planning as Christmas presents are going to be a little late unless my eczema clears up soon!

After returning home from the grocery store and getting everything put away I sat down and started writing out some Christmas cards for family and close friends. I read emails here and there and that was my evening.

Today is Day 2 of the CSE Advent Exchange. Amy M's package for me today held a beautiful ceramic lavender magnetic needle minder with dragonflies on it. I love it! I've seen it before and was planning on buying it if I couldn't find a dolphin.

The freebie links for today are:

About.com maintains a listing of free cross stitch patterns here http://crossstitch.about.com/od/freecrossstitchpatterns/a/crossstitcha2z.htm

I love Victoria Sampler and there are lots of free charts at http://www.victoriasampler.com/Free_Patterns/Default.aspx If you browse the homepage, you'll even find the link to cyberclasses.