January 12-13, 2009

Because of the placement of my needles at dialysis I was unable to do any stitching on my Peacock Chair. But after dialysis was a different story! I went to Border's Books after leaving the clinic and joined a group of ladies who sit in the coffee shop and stitch the night away. The meeting officially starts at 7pm, but two of us were there shortly after 6pm. A few, including me, brought something for dinner and most of us enjoyed a drink from the barristas.

I didn't get alot of stitching done at the meeting, with all the talking going on, but I had a very nice time. Unfortunately Carol BC, who told me about the meeting, couldn't be there because of continuing problems with her mom's nursing home, but I hope to see her soon. If things work out, we'll be meeting Sue V and Laura P at a Baltimore-area Starbuck's this weekend. *fingers crossed*

I was unable to get to sleep on Monday night so I played Spider Solitaire until almost 3:00am. At 6:00 I gave up on sleeping and got back up. I was afraid to stitch after going without sleep for almost 24 hours so I didn't pick it up.

After a too-short nap I decided to get to work on my Sale/Trade Blog, adding more than 50 new items. Please stop by and have a look! I have also placed a wishlist in the sidebar to make trades easier.

November 16, 2008

Today was a nice, quiet, peaceful day. I spent most of it watching recordings from my DVR and chatting with Debi. She and her family are in Anaheim, California, only two miles from the fireline so I have been on pins and needles waiting to hear whether or not they have to evacuate. Please keep all those affected and those still in danger in your prayers. I can't imagine what they're going through.

I re-upholstered the cushions of the rocking chair/sewing kit I bought yesterday. I used some thin quilt batting and bamboo pillow stuffing to create the cushions. I also decided to use Tacky Glue rather than lacing the fabric onto the cardboard backing. It was much quicker. I chose not to re-use the upholstry tacks that were originally holding the cushions onto the chair. They were a pretty tight fit and don't move unless you pull on them, so I'm leaving it as is.

I got a little bored doing the Rhodes stitches in Ebb Tide so I started on the border that goes around the left side and bottom of the design. I'm still worn out after yesterday so I didn't get much done.

I also worked on taking pictures of items I will adding to my trade album. I haven't posted them yet, but I will try to get that done by the end of the week. Taking the pictures was as much as I could do today.

November 14, 2008

After waffling about what project to start next and doing a floss toss for A Stitcher's Companion by Enchanting Lair, I opted to start Ebb Tide by Northern Pine Designs. I stitched on ET from about 2am to 6am and this is my progress so far. This is Leah's Overdyed floss, a new fiber for me. The canvas is 18ct Leventeen Blue. As you can see, I have my Little Helper stuck to one of the pins so it's in easy reach. These Rhodes Stitches are easy to do once you get them counted out, but each rectangle has 84 steps to it!

I was going to backstitch the page outlines for ASC, but ran into a problem with the floss colors. Tell me what you think...

Here's the Platinum linen:

Here's the Purple Horizon Lugana:I purchased two pieces of Platinum linen for this chart on Tuesday. It says you can fit everything on an 18x27 piece of 28ct, but there are hardly any margins and it has to be exactly as they have it laid out. I bought an extra piece of 13.5x18 so that I would have more room for excess. I only have the one piece of Purple Horizon and it is only 26.5 inches long so I have even less area for margins. I've ordered another piece of the PH and am keeping my fingers crossed that it matches the piece I already have. I had a frequent buyer credit with Karen at Wasatch Needlecraft, so I used that to purchase the fabric.

So did I make the right choice? I just don't think the Mother of Pearl (far left in top picture) works with the Platinum linen. It looks really good on the Purple Horizon, though. Since the chart is designed for Dinky Dyes silks, I want to stitch it using them. I prefer to use stuff that's already in my stash, though. With the holidays coming I am trying not to buy stash unless I need it and don't have a substitute.

I'm still working on kitting up my Just Nan charts with the Soie d' Alger I need, but I have a long way to go! I have all the colors listed on the sidebar of my trade blog, so if you have any and would like to trade, please let me know! I will be adding more items to my trade blog in the coming week. I have many more items than just the charts, kits, and fabric listed! Keep an eye out!

For the second "night" in a row I slept til after noon! I'm getting back on my schedule at last. Today was a dialysis day, so I had to get dressed and get going. Uncle Wes came in from his walk with Kasey last night and said "I hate to tell you this, but your truck window is down two inches." He took me keys went out to put it up for me. It was miserable yesterday, so I expected to find a puddle of water in my rubber floor mat. Just some drips. My seat wasn't even wet but I put a towel over it any way, just in case. The door panel and the carpen by the door sill seem to have taken the brunt of the wetness. All I can figure is that the oak tree stopped most of the rain from getting in directly and what came in rolled off the roof. Thank Goodness for small favors!

Treatment went fine, but it was freezing cold in there again so I was huddled under my fleece blanket instead of stitching. I told the director, and I wasn't kidding, that I refuse to sit there and freeze my butt off. I WILL ask to be taken off the machine and go home if they don't stop playing with the thermostat! It is incomprehensible to me how someone can turn on the air conditioning in November, for crying out loud! My tech finally went and changed the thermostat; it was 66 degrees! I'm sorry to rant, but the temperature of the treatment area is a constant problem. Us patients are always cold because the vents are directly above our chairs. The techs who are doing all the walking around don't have vents blowing on them so they keep it colder and we freeze!

After leaving the freezer, which warmed up once Faye turned the heat up to 85, I went to the bank to get some change for tomorrow's EGA Stash Swap/Sale. I sat down when I got home and sorted all the charts and kits so they're in some sembance of order for people to browse. I have everything in small plastic tubs inside five rolling totes so they're easy to transport.

I have to be in Columbia at 10am, so it will be a morning for me! UGH! Just when I was getting back to my regular schedule, I have to see moring again! The up side is that I'll be able to look for more great stash deals! Wish me luck! I'm hoping there are more cross stitchers there than there were at the main meeting on the 3rd, and I can actually sell some charts!

October 22, 2008

I didn't do any stitching yesterday because I was working on my trade blog. If you haven't been to see it yet, there are many more kits and charts available. I'm interested in trading for the items listed on the sidebar or you can choose to purchase something rather than trade for it. I have another wishlist on Webshots, but those are mainly charts and kits whereas my sidebar wishlist is smaller stash. Just use the link under the item's post to leave a comment with your name and email address. I will get back to you as soon as possible. Please don't leave comments for items with trades pending.

As for today, it was nose back to the grindstone. I'm determined to have Baby Kasey finished this week so I worked on her all day. I didn't have any interruptions during my dialysis treatment so I was able to make good progress while I was there and continued after returning home.

For Sale or Trade Album Additions!!

BEWARE: Enabling!!

I've had some very positive feedback to my FOST blog and wanted to let everyone know that I've added Aida fabric to the charts that were already listed. In the sidebar, you will find some items that are on my wishlist that I'd like to trade for. Check it out here!

Please stop by periodically, as there are definitely more stash items that will be added! I will be going through my stash cabinets soon to remove the kits and other charts that I know I won't stitch.