July 1, 2009- ALREADY?!

Wow! This year has flown by! It's already July! Independence Day is 3 days away! What am I going to do this year? Stay home or go to the Yacht Club? Hellifiknow!

I told you in yesterday's post that I was really close to finishing my HIH sampler. Well, I did it! I put the last button on It's Good to be Home shortly after midnight. This is my 19th finish in the Year of the Sampler!

I kept the computer off and started one of Myrl's gifts,
"Needle-point Spring Wreath" by Eileen Gurak of Hand-blessings. I love doing Eileen's designs because they stitch up so quickly. I think the longest it's taken me to do one is 10 hours. That was Stitching Nut, which was cross stitch. I tried finishing NSW before I went to sleep this morning, but I got to the next-to-last step and didn't have enough floss!

I ran out of the DMC Perle #8 in 703! Argh! I was so frustrated. I had an entire length of the Wildflowers Carnival, but no 703. I'm guessing maybe the measurements of the two got mixed up? I know it was an honest mistake. I'm a thread miser and have never run out of floss in a kit before! Lucky for me, I belong to several needlepoint groups/email lists and someone has already responded to my call for help. I'm sending her a SASE tomorrow so that she can send me 12-18" of 703 in #8 Perle. Once I have the floss, I should be able to finish this up in about half an hour. So Finish number 20 is waiting in the wings!

Even though it was 7am and I hadn't been to sleep yet, I still had stitching fever. I pulled out the other Handblessings kit from Myrl "Needlepoint Spring Quilt" and began stitching the tent stitches in the center. And that is where Exhaustion found me. Sixteen rows of sixteen tent stitches (half-stitches for cross stitchers). Borrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-inggggggggggggggggg! G'nite!

But today was a dialysis day so I couldn't sleep for eight hours. I made it to my treatment early because I happened to wake up before my alarm went off. I read at dialysis today because I have some bruises around my graft that are still fading. I didn't want to try to stitch and make new ones.

I worked on NSQ when I got home (left that laptop off!) and completed the tent stitches and three more sections. In the middle of stitching the fourth section I decided the thunder-storms were far enough away that I could turn on the computer. That's where my stitching progress stopped for the day!

See, I told you it was DIRECT PROPORTION: Computer off; Great stitching progress. Computer on; No stitching progress!

And it doesn't help that it takes me hours to write these daily posts. That's One. Post. One daily post equals at least two hours of work if there are pictures. I've spent as much as five hours on one post before (lots of pictures).

OCD? Me? *Nervous-hysterical laugh* Um, yeah. That's me! Grammar has to be right, it has to flow in a logical manner, pictures have to be placed correctly, extra lines/spaces have to be removed... I'm sure I'm missing some things, but you get the general jist of my quest for blogging perfection. I know there's more, but even if there was only one person who read Crossed Purposes I'd be the same way. I'll even edit a post that's old if I notice a typo or an awkward sentence. I can't help myself!

I have to say something to my friends who say I'm addicted to FaceBook: I've been away for more than 24 hours and I didn't die! I'm not addicted! I freely admit to my addictions (the aforementioned Lemonade Tea); I refuse to be saddled with ones I don't deserve!

I even resisted the temptation to sign in when I read an email from a friend telling me that all my Farm Town trees were ready to be harvested. I've defeated my FarmTown addiction, too! Wahoo! I'm so proud of me!

Tomorrow is payday, so I will be running errands and hopefully going to Barnes & Noble to stitch. It depends on how many stops I cross off my to-do list, though.

June 23, 2009

I've been waiting for today since September. I'm finally off the waiting list at the Department of Rehabilitation Services and I had my appointment with my DoRS counselor, Sue C. While we didn't get as much accomplished as she wanted to, Sue and I were able to completely go through the report on the career assessment I took last fall. I will be meeting with her again in July and we will write out specific goals and a plan to set me on a path to attaining them. In the meantime, I will be contacting the community college so that I can meet with a disability coordinator and an admissions advisor. I'm really excited to get on the road to higher education after all these years.

I was enrolled in college in the winter of 1994 but only spent a week in classes before I was admitted to the hospital for "23 hours of observation." I was released twelve days later to be flown from Atlanta to Boston for emergency surgery at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachussetts. After spending another nine days in the hospital there, and by the time I returned to Chattanooga and was able to attend classes, I was too far behind to catch up. That was my college experience. This time around, I have the help of DoRS and will be working closely with a disability coordinator so that I can have extended deadlines if something happens with my health during the course of my studies. I will be sure to keep you updated as this new chapter in my life unfolds...I hope I don't bore you to death!

Following the DoRS appointment I mailed a trade (Look out, Lynn!) and then came home to relax and stitch a little. I wound up reading emails, chatting, and uploading pictures so only got a little bit done on my WIP. That's right-I have a WIP to report on, not another finish. I can't keep up that pace forever, yanno!

I pulled all the charts out of my "Favorites" drawer and spread them out across the floor around me and chose as my next project "Good to be Home" by Heart in Hand (HIH). This chart came to me kitted up as my prize for winning the January 2008 Monthly Goals drawing in StitchNSwap2. Karen included the linen and over-dyed threads with the chart and buttons. Since I'd just returned home from being in the hospital and rehab for 35 days, this was a very appropriate sentiment at the time, and still is! Now I'm finally going to stitch it!

I've also decided that I'm going to flip between two larger projects once IGTBH is done. First, I have Mom's sampler "Heart of America," a limited release by Little House Needleworks (LHN). She saw the model in the shop at the retreat and fell in love. She's asked me to stitch it and give it to her for Christmas, so I have a deadline (OMG!). Second is Patriotic Wishes I & II. These are shown as twelve individual pillow ornaments, but I will be doing them on one piece of fabric, in four rows of three.

I have a story for you. And before I even begin, Yes! I know I'm going to Hell for laughing until I cried, but I just couldn't stop myself. If it makes it any better, Mom laughed just as hard.

So here it is: Sarah sent me an instant message on the computer this evening telling me how she was getting ready to pull her hair out. It went something like, "Anna woke up before me this morning and didn't wake me up like she usually does. Instead of getting one of her snacks, she ate the cookies we made for Tyler on Sunday. She had crumbs all over the couch, loveseat, livingroom floor, her bed, her bedroom floor....everywhere!

Now Caleb is crying and whining about everything Anna does. Anna is crying and whining about everything Caleb does. And Caleb is walking around the apartment saying 'God damnit.' They're being absolutely ridiculous today!"

Jameson Caleb turned two in March. The mental picture and hearing that little voice in my head saying "Ga dimit" was just too freakin' funny! Lord, please forgive me!

I called Sarah about something else and heard her ask Anna to go play in her room for a little while because she was doing homework. Anna started bawling and said that she didn't want to play in her room. I asked Sarah if it would help if I picked up Anna and did something with her for a little while, because Caleb was happily playing by himself in his bedroom. As the words were coming out of my mouth, I was mentally going through a list of things I have here at the house that Anna would like to do. By the time I picked her up and brought her back here I had a plan.

The plan was to spread an old sheet out on the livingroom floor (the clean half) and give her stickers, coloring books, twist-up crayons (so she can't break them), and to put a Disney movie in the DVD player. I also set out my double-twelve dominoe set for her to build stuff with. She chose to watch Cinderella because Aunt Beth didn't have her favorite, Ariel. She took all the other "kids' movies" and spread them out on her sheet in front of her. When she asked for some of my tea, I gave her a cup with a lid, but I was nervous about her tipping it over because the lid didn't seal. So I took a box and flipped it over; it became Anna's impromptu table. She also put her plate of chicken on it when she ate her dinner.

Once Cinderella got started, though, there was nothing else for Anna Lynn. She was completely engrossed in the movie, as she usually is.

We went for a walk with Kasey around 8:00pm and Anna asked if she could play in the playground. I live next door to a private nursery school and kindergarten so the playground is always a big hit with the little ones. We went in and Anna played with the sand digger and then swung on one of the swings while I pushed her.

When she got down, she walked over to Kasey to pet her. She asked, "what's those?" pointing to the swarm of mosquitoes on and around Kasey's head. When I realized how bad they were, I told her we had to leave. Anna and I both were bitten several times on the way back up to the house. We will not be going back to the playground until things dry out more. The mosquitoes are AWFUL around here right now!

I put Lady and the Tramp in the DVD player for Anna when we got back home and she sat on her blanket to watch it. Sarah arrived shortly after it began. Of course Anna wanted to stay to watch the movie but she stopped protesting when I told her she could come back and watch it another time. I was very proud of how well she behaved herself. Mr. Chet, who has a strong dislike of small children, even deigned to let Anna touch him. I was shocked!

On the way from Sarah's to my house, I'd told Anna that I had some stickers for her. I asked her if she knew where stickers went and she said, "yes."

"So where are you going to put them, Anna?" I asked.

"On my doorhead," she said.

That made me chuckle. "On your forehead?" I said.

"Yes!" was the reply. And she did! I was also sticker-fied on my forearm and the back of my hand. I'm thankful that she didn't think to try putting any on Kasey and/or Chet! Kasey was Anna's pillow for a little while. She loves the attention.

That was our excitement for the day. I read email and did some other online stuff after Anna left. I stitched a little, too, but as you can see from the picture, I didn't get much done.

April 20-26, 2008

This week was one of the worst for my stitching slump. I was just fed up. I didn't do any stitching Sunday or Monday. On Tuesday I felt like I had Stitching ADHD or something. I did a little bit of backstitching on my long-time UFO, A Bird For All Seasons, made twenty stitches on Wee Dad, and finished the border of Don't Bug Me. Showing a picture of Wee Dad or ABFAS would be a waste of space.

This is my progress on Wednesday. I only stitched at dialysis.

I finished Pocket Sampler: Dad by Heart in Hand on Friday at dialysis. It's my 19th finish for 2008. I can't wait to see this finished as a no-sew cube! It's going to look great along with Mom's.

Don't let the charts with specialty stitches intimidate you! All the stitches here are clearly diagrammed and easy to follow. All of them with the exception of the Rhodes Stars repeat in a pattern, so you don't have to refer to the chart for every stitch once you have the hang of it.

April 13-19, 2008

I originally thought that I didn't do much stitching this week.

The pictures tell a completely different story than my stitching calendar, that's for sure!

This is my progress as of Sunday, April 13th.


I thought I'd never get this heart done! Four days of stitching on just the heart! But it's done, and it's my 18th finish of the year!

I'm sorry to say that you can't tell there are Smyrna Crosses in it. It's not just the picture. Unless you look for them, you can't see them in person, either. I debated about using one or two strands of floss. The chart called for two...and you see how that turned out.
Pocket Sampler: Dad, by Heart in Hand.

This is how far I got by Thursday, the 17th.

Have I told you how much I love specialty stitches? No?
Well, I love specialty stitches!
Love! Love! Love them!

I think they're so much fun! And easy? Yes!! And they go so fast! I can't wait to see this one done.

I didn't do any stitching Saturday because I was at Mom's with Ian and Breanna, but I did do alot of sewing. I made pillows and pillow shams for my Pine Mountain Pillows.

Bre stayed in the Craft Room with me all day while Ian went and ran errands. I was shocked because this is the first time he's been able to go anywhere without her crying at the thought of being left behind. This was a major milestone. And I have to say that, suprisingly for a (soon to be) 6-year-old, you wouldn't have known she was in the room. She colored the die-cut princess and dragon poster I suprised her with while I sewed. She was a great help in stuffing my pillows, too. I even made a circular one for her...and she slept with it like it was a doll. It was so cute!

Anna and Bre watched Cinderella in the craft room before bed while I continued to make pillows and pillow shams. Why did it take so long? Well, considering I've never made a pillow sham before, it was a learning process. My first one is not the same design as my second one. One opens at the bottom and the other opens in the middle of the back. And don't even ask me how many seams I ripped out. I think 1/3 of the spool went into the trash after I ripped it. There were definitely frogs in that room! Here is a picture of my first pillow and sham.

April 7-12, 2008

Uncle Sam bread cloth finished Tuesday, April 8th.

One-day stitch! My Mother by Pine Mountain Pillows. I completed this in less than seven hours on Wednesday, April 9th.

Wee Mom by Heart in Hand, started right after I finished the pillow sham.

I was talking to Miss Deborah late Wednesday night...okay! YES, it was Thursday morning! Anyway, we were talking and she was telling me how Mr. Max keeps asking when he's going to get a stitched eagle. I said "Wait! I have one! I can do this real quick and send it to him. He'll never suspect!" So I did! Another one-day stitch, and this only took about eight hours to complete on April 10th.

Since I finished Mr. Max's eagle so fast, I went back to work on Wee Mom for my stepmother's Mother's Day present. This is my progress as of April 11.

This is how far I got on Saturday the 12th.

I have no idea how I'm going to finish it. Any ideas?

March 18, 2008

I was determined to finish In the Land of the Free before I went to bed. I put the last bead on at 4:30 this morning. That's my 8th Challenge finish for the year, and my 12th finish overall! I'm trying to force myself out of the stitching slump I've been in and think I've made great progress towards that goal.

This evening was the Heirloom Stitchers meeting at Provinces Library. Carol Boyer invited me to join their group back in December, but I got sick. I was in the hospital for the January and February meetings, so this was the first one I was able to attend.

Uncle Wes drove with me, because the meeting was from 6-8:30 pm and I can't drive after dark. He dropped me off at a few minutes before 6:00 and went to Arundel Mills Mall. There were six of us stitching and one member even brought two grocery bags filled with stash she wanted us to go through and take home what we wanted. So here are the charts I picked up:

Terra Australis by Dinky-Dyes Designs
We Gather Together by With Humble Heart
To Thine Own Self be True by With Humble Heart
Meow by Angel Stitchin
Quaker Mini Treats by Samplers and Such
Ladybugs and Bumblebees by Country Cottage Needleworks
Morning Berries by Little House Needleworks
Kathleen by Indigo Rose
Praise Sampler by The Sampler House
Mother & Child by Forget-Me-Not in Stitches
Stitch Sampler by Charlotte's Web Needleworks
Women are Like Teabags by Sweetheart Company
Queen Mary's Garden (Kit) by Liz Turner Diehl, Inc.
Keychain kit by Creative Vision Design

I'm most excited about Terra Australis, because it's part of the Quilt Block Series by Dinky-Dyes. I just received Southern Stars, which is part of the same series and plan on stitching them as soon as my Challenge is completed.

I loved sitting around with other stitchers and chatting about our pets and families. I've never stitched with anyone before and it was a very nice interlude. I worked on Pocket Sampler: Dad until I ran out of my strand of floss. I forgot to put the flosses back with the chart after I finished making my stash list, so I didn't have any other floss with me. DUH!



Luckily, I stuck a couple kits in my stitching bag so I worked on Lavender Luminesence by The Sweetheart Tree. Time seemed to fly, though, because 8:30 arrived without us realizing. There are a couple of us who plan on taking our own unwanted stash to next month's meeting, so I'm sure I'll come home with more goodies, but I also plan on giving away some of the things I'll never stitch.

March 16, 2008

I need to start off with an apology to Miss Deborah of ILCS. She called me last night and we were talking for about an hour...and then I fell asleep! Fortunately, she knew I'd gotten less than two hours' sleep the previous night, thanks to Kasey waking me up at 5:30 in the morning, but I still felt bad that I drifted off while she was talking to me. I promise, it was exhaustion, not boredom, Miss Deborah! I ended up sleeping for 17 hours, so I think I made up for the missed sleep the night before!

I did a little stitching on Pocket Sampler: Dad while I was watching the NASCAR race today. It's not much, but at least I can say I stitched! Sheer force of will, if nothing else, is going to get me out of this stitching slump I've been in!

I also spent a few hours working on my shopping list for the LNS Sue V is taking me to. I'm going through my charts and compiling a list of fabbys and fibers needed to kit them up.

March 15, 2008

After staying up until 4 this morning, a certain Punkin' Head Puppy woke me up at 5:30 to go outside. Apparently Uncle Wes went for his "coffee walk" and didn't take Punky with him, so she woke me up to let her out. When I asked her, "Do you have to go outside?" she ran to the door, but when I let her out all she did was stand at the carport door, looking. Once she did that, her jig was up and I made her come back in the house. I could have throttled her right there, because OF COURSE I couldn't get back to sleep! I tried, but gave up after an hour.

Today is my nephew's first birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CALEB! Unfortunately, I can't go to his birthday party because he's got a nasty cough. I'm not allowed to be around anyone who is sick because I have a very weak immune system. Uncle Wes had things he wanted to get done around here, so he didn't go to the party, either. He was also concerned about bringing something home with him and me catching it, so that was another reason for him not to go.

I have a finish! I got the Pocket Sampler: Mom all done! Don't ask me how I'm going to "finish-finish" it, though! I may just buy a small frame so Mom can hang it in her craft room, or I could put it in an easel frame and she could put it on her bureau. I'll have to see what I can find in the way of frames and decide then. But here it is!!

March 14, 2008

While I can't officially say my stitching slump is over, I can tell you I stitched ALOT today at dialysis and once I got home! I made great progress on Pocket Sampler: Mom. I'm so happy I did some stitching at home, at last! The specialty stitches were alot of fun. I did have to refer to my Encyclopedia of Needlework for one of them, but it was pretty easy once I understood the directions.

March 12, 2008

I didn't make much progress on my pocket sampler today at dialysis. Between eating, talking to the techs, watching a really funny episode of Little House on the Prarie, and discussing some things with my dietician, my treatment time seemed to fly by. This is all I got done today.

Instead of stitching when I got home, I played with my new stash! That's right, it was a great mail day! My prize from Karen of SNS2's January Goals Contest arrived today. She kitted up Good to be Home from Heart in Hand and added an extra piece of 28ct Lambswool linen and a skein of Dried Thyme from GAST. The note she sent along with everything said "Beth, after your long hospital stay, I couldn't pass this up. Enjoy!" Karen, thank you for your thoughtfulness. I'm definitely going to love stitching that one! My order from Shirley at Country Cottage Framing & Needleart also arrived! My Dinky Dyes charts are here!

I've been drooling over Southern Stars since I found it at the Online Needlework show in October of last year. I also discovered Heirloom Embroideries, which is only available through Dinky Dyes Designs. I got Charmed Dreams and Medley. Shirley sent me all the silks, beads, and embellishments for the charts. Also included in the order was the Just Nan chart Queen of the Needle and its embellishment pack. I know there are alot of people doing a SAL with QotN and I really can't wait to get working on these, but I have that pesky Stitching Challenge to complete first! After fondling the silks and embellishments I worked on cutting Aida for other charts in my stash. I have a few I think will look really good with the Aida I've chosen for them.

I've really got to get out of this stitching slump, so if anyone has any suggestions PLEASE HELP! I thought switching projects would do the trick, but I'm back to old habits. I'm not doing any stitching at home still.

March 10, 2008

I know, I know, it's not In the Land of the Free! I've just gotten into a slump or something. I didn't even stitch at dialysis today and haven't stitched at home in over a week, so I thought I needed a change of pace. I decided to work on Pocket Sampler: Mom by Heart in Hand instead. I'm hoping to have this done by Mother's Day for my mom. I thought I'd get more done, but that just didn't happen.

March 9, 2008

After the clock struck midnight, I continued my work on finishing off my stitched pieces. Because I usually have a small patriotic tree, I wanted to make Liberty by HIH into an ornament. I chose a fabric for the backing that had a distressed look to mimic the faded blue in the over-dyed floss. It also has a silver shimmer that picks up from the silver star charm. So here it is:
I also made a flatfold that looks like a pinkeep out of No Matter What by Hob-Nobb Designs before I went to bed. I love the fabric I chose because it picks up both the dark and light brown from the checkerboard border. Not bad for a first attempt, huh?
I didn't realize what time it was, so I went to bed at 4am. When I woke up, I got back to work on my last project My Very Bestest Friend by 4 My Boys. At first, I was going to make a pillow, but I really didn't feel like hand-stitching it closed. After thinking about it for a while, I saw a cigar tin that I got from Uncle Wes. It was large enough for the design. I lined the inside top and bottom of the tin with the fabric I'd chosen for the design and the design itself, of course, adorns the outside of the top.
I took these pictures the other day and forgot to include them in my post, so here they are now. I caught Kasey while she was "grooming" her newest toy, Maggie Mad-Face. Don't ask me why it's called that, but it's the name she came with. Maggie was Kasey's reward for being a good girl at the Dog Wash last Sunday after she went swimming. She really hates getting a bath and I wanted to give her a treat so it's not always a bad experience. Yawns, Kay-Kay style: