Oh Futz! That's an F word, right?

For lack of anything more exciting to talk about today, I shall visit the letter 'F'.

F is for Futz. Yep, that's a good word. It's the only printable one I can use to describe my knitting abilities at the moment. 210 stitches, on circular needles x 4 pattern rows + a twist= Futz. Or more aptly described: Futzed Up. Argh!

F is for Floozie. Those who have followed this blog for awhile have already met 'Doll E, the fairy floozie', but I decided to show her again in honour of today being an F day. If you enlarge the picture you can probably see why she earned her name!

F is for Friends, both internet and in person. Where would we be without them? I really treasure the ones I have and really can't imagine my life without them.

On another subject, I've been reading 'Ripe Living After 50' by Susan Swartz and discovered something in there I really liked and thought I would share:

"They used to say that women over thirty-five shouldn't wear their hair long. They used to say women over forty-five shouldn't show their bare arms. They used to say all women over fifty better dye their hair and lie about their age. They used to say after baby-making women had nothing more to contribute. They used to say that menopausal women couldn't be world leaders. THEY didn't know we'd stopped listening."

The best laid plans...

....are bound to run amuck! Can someone please explain to me how one person can manage to ignore the fact that there's a 'certain' day in December and that it's bound to happen every year and that there's certain things needing to be done for said day and that leaving said certain things because 'there's plenty of time' is not exactly the least stressful thing to do?


Can someone explain to me how one person could manage to get herself bogged down in knitting projects when that person had been heard to say in no uncertain terms that she would NEVER have more than one project on the needles? And why would that person think (in her wildest fantasies) that she could possibly knit all these projects up in time for Christmas when she knits the speed of a turtle? No, don't bother telling me that the tortoise won the race!


Can that same someone come up with any ideas as to why that same one person could manage to futz so much time on a ridiculous box that has no bearing on anything needing to be done in the near future. Better yet, can someone suggest anything to remove too much gold leafing from said box?


Any someones out there want to come and help that one person knit??

Of snakes, and suppers, and kids

How do you like this? Our oldest son & his fiance had us come for supper last night so we could meet his new pet. Isn't she cool? Before you ask, yes this is my hand holding her! Right now her name is Rosie, but that's soon to change to a name which is befitting her. She's a type of boa, but I can't remember what exactly. She won't get much bigger than she is here because she's two years old already.

We had the greatest supper too (it pays to have a son who's a good chef!). Rack of lamb, fingerling potatoes, a wonderful leek soup, mushrooms in sauce, a homemade mint sauce, and a purely decadent chocolate banana crepe for dessert. Yum!! It was even nicer because #2 son was there too, so we got to see them both. All in all, a great evening!

TAST - Weeks 43 & 44

Here's my Weeks 43 and 44 of the Take A Stitch Tuesdays challenge by Sharon of http://sharonb.wordpress.com.

On the left is my effort at week 43's Drizzle Stitch. This one was a lot of fun and yet another stitch I hadn't tried. I found that it worked better in a hoop, at least for me. I don't normally use a hoop but think it works better this way.

On the right is week 44's ZigZag Spanish Knotted Stitch. This one was also a lot of fun, once I got the rhythm going. I love it and would carry it through with some flowers or beads in the centres. Thanks again Sharon!

The letter E

EEEK! Hope everyone had a fun halloween!


Sorry to say, there are no pictures today because the box pretty much looks the same in a picture as it did yesterday. I've dry-brushed it with purple and am now ready for the gold leaf which I hope to get done tomorrow.


So...we will visit the letter E today:

1. 'E'mbroidery! My absolute favourite. My library sports lots of books on the subject, a few of which I will list here.....two books by Judith Baker Montano - 'Elegant Stitches' and 'Floral Stitches'; 'Treasury of Crazy Quilt Stitches' by Carole Samples; 'Quilt Savvy - Embroidery Stitches' by Joan Waldman; 'Stumpwork Embroidery' by Jane Nicholas; and 'Embroidery Illusions' by Gary Clarke. I love them all! 

2. Further on embroidery (notice my obsession?) - I collect patterns and stitches (and combinations) and have quite an extensive file. Someday I might even be able to use a small portion of it (should I live that long!).


3. 'E' is for empty, which is what my head is at the moment. Surely there must be other 'e' words, but for the life of me I can't come up with any. I may have to re-visit the letter later on!

Halloween, Black Blobs, and Progress (maybe?)

First, thank you so very much to everyone who left a comment to help me decide where to go next with my box top. I really, really appreciate all the suggestions! As you can see with this picture, I've removed the faces (which I was really happy to do, even though I wasn't aware of it) and I've added some 'fluffies' on the buttons at the bottom. Now I'm waiting for the box proper to be done (pictured here as a black blob, but it's getting there) before I do any more to the top.

I think I will dry-brush the box with purple and then play around with some gold leaf I have unearthed from my stash, which in turn will maybe lead me to put some gold fibres on the top??!!

Happy halloween everyone. This is a rushed post or I would have some sort of halloween-y picture for you. We are headed out for the evening (supper, movie AND a trip to Michaels). We'd love to shell out to the little ghoulies, but we don't get that many on our street and the dogs go absolutely berserk, which in turn scares the kids - big time. It's not worth the angst so I get to go to Michaels instead. Works for me!

And yes, I DO know how to use paragaphs!!! Confound Blogger anyway.

Box Progress, Plant, and 'D'

Here you go Arlee...a picture of the base and leaves of the mystery plant. Yes, it has a light smell and it appears the stem (at least at the bottom) is quite woody. It's very tall and gangly too. Our elderly neighbour keeps giving us plants for both in and outside and has no clue as to what they are and nor do we, obviously!

I *think* I'm finished with the box top now, unless I decide to add more to it. Unfortunately the camera doesn't quite pick up how sparkly it is in real life. Don't forget you can click on it to enlarge it.

'D' today -

1. I hate to use the word 'disappointment' but it seems to be what I'm feeling at this moment about the box top. I set out to work outside my comfort level and, to a degree, I've done that. However, I wanted to go a whole lot further beyond what I normally do and something seems to stop me. I keep coming back to perfectionism and downright fear that people won't like it. (This is not a plea for nice comments either - I'd much rather you give me suggestions on what I should do with it now!). Don't get me wrong - I like it now, but really wanted it to be more 'out there' and can't seem to get to that point.

ns.

OK folks. Over to you. Any suggestions of what to do with my box top or should I leave it alone? Please comment with your opinion!

"C"onscience!! That's a C word.

Yep, CONSCIENCE. That's what I'm suffering from at the moment. Everybody knows there's a 'date' coming in December when things need to be completed by. I know this. It happens every single year. So why on earth am I spending my time working on a box that has absolutely nothing to do with the deadline staring me in the face? And why am I enjoying it so much, despite that pesky little voice in my head telling me I'm sure to regret this waste of time - big time. Picture of progress is included.

Further on 'C' for today:

- 'Cosmo' my 'cat' (second picture) who is the 'cause' of a lot of laughter and angst in this household. He was quite aptly named after the character of Cosmo Kramer in Seinfeld. Remember how Kramer always skidded into the room, making a dramatic entrance? Well, our Cosmo is exactly the same. He's also the cause of things going awol, amuck, and general mayhem in my workroom!

Lastly, anybody happen to know what this plant is? It is extremely tall and gangly (hence the reason I've buried the flower into my lemon tree to hold it up). It reminds me of a geranium of sorts in the flower, but the leaves are long and skinny. Got any ideas Arlee?

Box progress and 'B'

This is the base for the box top. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I expect it will tell me as I go along. In the meantime I have a lot of little seams to stitch down on this before I can go on.


Yesterday I got my 'invitation' to join Ravelry, which I am given to understand is THE invitation of the year. I hopped on over there, and have to admit that I am disappointed. All the hype led me to expect marvels and so far I have yet to find any. Sure, there are free patterns, but there are far more on the Lion Brand website. I'm not a huge lover of forums, so can't really see much value in those - at least for me. I will continue to check it out and may have to revise my opinion, but for now, I'm not blown away. OK, world, go ahead and shoot me!

Today, I will visit the letter 'B'....

1. Books!! Of course. What else would I put at the top of my list? I have a love/hate relationship with them; I love reading them and looking at them, and hate the fact that there is never enough time to read all of them that are out there. I have a insatiable curiosity I guess!

2. An author I particularly like is David Baldacci (note the 'B' in his name). He writes really good mysteries and I have yet to read one that doesn't keep me guessing. Some of my other favourites include Mitch Albom (who wrote 'The Five People You Meet In Heaven' and 'Tuesdays With Morrie' - two books that top my all-time top 10 of books I've ever read); James Patterson; Stuart Woods; Nora Roberts; Kathy Reichs; JRR Tolkein; James Clavell; Jean Auel; and many, many more. I could go on listing names forever, but I will spare you that.

3. http://www.bookcrossing.com/ I know I've mentioned this site before but it deserves another mention. This site promotes literacy in a fun way. The premise is that once you've read a book you register it with the site and then 'release it into the wild' (ie. leave it in a public place). Inside the book you must write a tracking number, which is assigned by the site. The finder of the book (hopefully) will read it, report to the site, and then re-release it for someone else to enjoy. Some books have been totally around the world, which I find amazing. What a fun way to encourage reading - and it's free too!

4. http://sharonb.wordpress.com/ I know that I keep telling you about this blog, but it's one you really need to visit if you are the least bit interested in the world of needlearts. Sharon B is one of the most knowledgeable people about the subject and very generously shares what she knows.

5. http://beadjournalproject.blogspot.com/ Again, I know I've mentioned this one before too. If you are interested in beading, check it out for a year-long project involving beaded journaling.

Brown Paper Packages NOT (quite) tied up in String

Now, on to the picture for today. I'm doing another step towards redoing my box. I'm sure you are very interested to witness what crumpled up brown paper looks like whilst drying on my laundry room floor! Stay tuned for what I do with it....

Notes & Mumbles

Because I haven't done a thing on my box today (or anything else, for that matter), I will do a short mumble.....


1. I will be starting a 'series' of posts on my blog concerning the 'A-Z of Me' for those days when I have nothing in particular of interest to natter on about. 

 
2. Went to a new dentist today. Never had a more thorough cleaning of my teeth in my life..and they're still not done! I couldn't believe it. Of course now that we have to pay for it (and not get it 'free' through a medical plan) might be making a difference. Certainly has eaten a rather largish hole in our meagre coffers and more to come, but at least not until after Christmas. I guess I should be happy about that.

'The' Box - at the yucky stage

The first picture shows the box once I got the innards pretty much removed. The brown blobs you see are from the glue they used and, believe me, it's pretty gross. The next step was for DH to take it apart for me to make it easier to work on.

The second picture shows the addition of a coat of gesso, which I've come to a screeching halt with because I've run out. The box is very 'thirsty' and is gobbling it up, big time. Now I wonder - where do I get some more in this town?! After all, I'm on a creative spurt here and don't want to stop!

The last rose of summer?

I think these are actually the last roses of summer 2007. It's hard to believe they are actually still blooming so bravely. I guess they chose now to bloom because they are surrounded by beautiful icelandic poppies most of the summer and can't reach above the crowd. Aren't they pretty?

And, the other picture is a 'before' of a project I'm planning to work on. This banged up old jewellry box was a 'found' item in my bil's house after he died. I assume it must have originally belonged to my MIL, but not sure. At any rate, I'm overhauling it, hopefully making into something a bit funky and useful for storing stuff. Don't know what I'm doing with it yet, but hopefully inspiration will strike when I start tearing it apart.

I'm sorry, I know Blogger doesn't post the pictures the way I want them to, so these are probably out of order!

TAST - Week 42

Week 42??! That means there are only ten weeks left in 2007. Wow! Just where did it go??

Anyway, here's my effort at the Take A Stitch Tuesday challenge - the Twisted Chain Stitch. I love this one! It's also a stitch that I had never seen before. Thanks Sharon, for constantly coming up with something new. http://sharonb.wordpress.com

Today it is dull and rainy, which I suppose is good for the new grass seed DH planted yesterday. As for me, the combination of damp and the leaves falling isn't good for my allergies, so its a good day to play around with knitting needles and hide in my basement studio where I can't see out!

Book Review!

For lack of something better to blog about today, here's another book review. Sorry about the bad scan!

I shall quote some of the info on the back cover (since it says it better than I ever could): 'Revitalize classic embroidery stitches for a contemporary look simply by adding beads to your needlework'.

The book includes basics on beading, threads, tools, etc. There are 215 embroidery stitches, translated into beads and there's 20 projects too. The instructions are quite clear and there are some great ideas of ways to use beads in embroidery. Crazy quilters would like this book, for sure.

Specs: "Bead Embroidery - The Complete Guide" by Jane Davis, published by KP Books, ISBN # 0-87349-888-7

No pictures, much mumbling

Working on Christmas presents doesn't lead to a lot of pictures for blogs, especially when people are readers! Sorry 'bout that. Will try to improve!.

Today I shall mumble (feel free to stop reading if you like)....


Oddly enough, on the same subject - Knitting Daily has been talking about the very same thing...UFO's and why we have them. When I returned to knitting I swore I would NEVER (hah) have any more than one project at a time on the needles. Well then. Ahem. I lied. Yep, I admit it - I lied. The number has risen to five and is threatening to keep increasing. What is it with knitting anyway? And why is it that we (I) have to have a different knitting bag for each project? It's an illness I know it is and it appears as though it's infecting more and more people all the time!


 Today I dyed. Yep. It's 'that' time of year for the proverbial flip-the-mattress-wash-the-entire-bedding process. Who knew that a green wool blanket would turn a flannel sheet the most interesting putrid shade of P-green in the washer? oops.

 Has anyone ever figured out a use for dust bunnies? It's one of those questions I would like to have answered. If there's a factory somewhere in the world that makes something with them, would you kindly let me know? I have a big supply, just waiting for a good home. All postage paid.

TAST weeks 40 & 41

It's hard to believe that we're into week 41 already of this challenge. It just seems like yesterday it started! I'm going to be really sorry to see it end.

Week 40 is another stitch new to me and is called Linked Double Chain (in red in the picture). I liked this stitch very much and will certainly use it in the future.

Then we come to Week 41. Oops. It is supposed to be the Lace Border Stitch, and quite obviously I'm doing something wrong! However, to be honest, I kind of like what I ended up with and can see it with a pretty flower bead in the open spots. I guess I'm destined to do some more work with this one!

Another fundraiser bra and general mumbling

This is another of the bras that was included in the Bras For A Cause fundraiser. I thought this one was well done and full of significance.

Mumblings:

- wonder why blogger has a 'thing' about sometimes including spaces for paragraphs and sometimes not. I really do use them you know!

- it's a good thing that blogs don't get laryngitis like I seem to have at the moment. The darn tree leaves are doing 'something' (in this case, falling) and whenever they do, my allergies kick in. This time I'm losing my voice, which tickles the other housemembers tremendously. They have no sympathy.

Of bras and bags

Bet that title caught your attention!

The first picture today is some of the new/old beaded purses I have hanging in my workroom. The black one is old, but I'm not too sure about the age of the white one. The blueish-purple is one that I knitted with beads a couple of years ago. The round beige one was made for me by one of the elderly ladies in our quilt guild to go along with my lovely porcelain doll, which was recently beheaded by the cat. Yep, Cosmo worked his magic and isn't smart enough to run from the scene of the crime. I was upset but it's only a doll, even though I did take lessons on how to make it! There's no longer a doll-making studio in the area, so there's no hope of replacing her.

As for the bras, the second picture is for you Arlee. Thought you might like to see how someone else worked with copper sheeting! No, I didn't make it...it was one of the bras that were donated for the Bras For A Cause breast cancer fundraiser. I thought it was quite unique.

Further on the bra subject ... today a friend & I got fitted properly and I'm currently wearing one that more or less makes me feel like I'm wearing the afore-mentioned copper one!! However, I am assured that it takes years off my age, so for that alone, it's worthwhile. Perky vs. droopy...I guess there is no contest. Sigh. Even my husband noticed. Darn, because all this time I've been looking forward to the day when I wouldn't have to wear one and could just tuck 'em in my belt! Let me tell you, this thing gives a whole new meaning to lift and separate - not quite Madonna cones, but close. What we don't go through to put our best foot (boob) forward....

Working on PSI's

Today I've spent my time 'making fabric' out of odds & ends to use for the PSI swap I'm in. I pretty much used the directions for fabric charms which is a free tutorial on the Fibre & Stitch site ( www.fibreandstitch.com) which was written by Sue Bleiweiss. Of course I didn't have the exact requirements but managed to find something that worked. The second picture shows the fabric cut into PSI's and finished around the outside. Now I just have to put something on the back and they're good to go! I'm likin' these.

More presents done!

I just finished putting these together...eleven sets of wine glass coasters ready for including with my Christmas presents (and in some of the stockings). They are simple-cinchy to make, which is what I like at this time of year. I put a wine glass in one so hopefully you can see. These coasters stay with the glass wherever the person goes, which is a bonus for those who like to protect their furniture against people who forget to use coasters!

Now I'm off to work on another present....

Wearing my Santa hat

Yep, I'm wearing my Santa hat today and getting a few projects done. Don't get excited though because I have a long way to go!

The pictures show the tote bag/padfolio combo I've made for several people (this one is for a friend who doesn't read my blog so it's safe to show). The tote is a pretty basic pattern and is using up some of my recycled denim stash. The padfolio pattern originally came from Sue Bleiweiss at www.suebleiweiss.com . I've tweaked it a bit (with her permission). Just hope she approves of what I've done! Thanks Sue.

Lutrador and Gourds

As promised, here's the picture of the lutrador Arlee painted (and burned) for me. I had been curious to know exactly what lutrador is, so she was nice enough to give me some. She said it's also known as 'synthetic rice paper' in flower shops, so I'll have to do some field work to see if I can locate it locally.

The other picture is of the lonely birdhouse gourd we managed to grow of any size in our garden. There are a couple of small ones, but I don't expect them to grow any more. This was an experiment, just to see what would happen. I'm waiting for the vines to die and then I'll put this one in a pantyhose bag and hang it in a cool dry place (the cold cellar I guess) and see if it dries. I read somewhere that it could take up to six months!

Goodies in the mail and 400!!

Now who would have thought I would stick with this long enough to reach 400 posts?! Who knew I had that much to talk about?

Today's picture (which you will need to click on to enlarge) is of some of the goodies my friend Arlee ( http://arleebarr.squarespace.com/designjournal sent me. We traded for the atc's and I'm pretty darn sure I got the best end of the deal! I love her work. The lace is some she hand dyed (painted). So pretty and I'm sorry the colours aren't showing well in this picture. The gorgeous green piece is an unfinished (her words, not mine!!) pin, which I am supposed to complete. I'm thinking maybe a row of beaded picots around the outside will definitely be enough.

She also sent me a great piece of lutrador which she had 'altered' which I neglected to include in the picture. I'll save that to show in post # 401.

Searching for something to talk about

I found two things to show you today. The first is a few embroidery stitches I found in one of the 'Needlecraft Magazines' I've been given (dated February 1928). The magazine says it's No. 5 of a series, so I'm hoping I will be able to find some more once I get through them all. I'm particularly interested in the bottom stitch combination, which is one I have never seen. Can't wait to try it on something!

The other two pictures are of a really pretty needlecase my friend Marie made for me a couple of years ago. It is absolutely perfect to use when I'm out and about because it has a nice long ribbon which allows me to wear it as a necklace. How cool is that?

Experimenting again

I spent some time playing today and these are the results. I used 'Stitch Witch' (which I've had for years so am not sure that it's even made anymore). I painted it with a combination of gold, copper & black, using a dry brush and allowed it to dry.

The picture with the black cardstock background has a plain bit of Stitch Witch on the left (unpainted) and the bit on the right was painted. I just set the stitch witch on the paper and hit it with my heat gun until it started to melt in places. After it cooled I sprinkled it with embossing powder, shook off the excess, and hit it with the heat gun again.

The other sample was done on a recycled piece of Swiffer dust cloth. I washed the cloth, removed the 'fuzz', and then placed the painted stitch witch on top. The heat gun made both the stitch witch and the dust cloth melt in places. Again, I did the embossing step and it melted even more. Very cool!

TAST - Weeks 37, 38 & 39

You'll have to click on the picture to enlarge it to see the details this time...my camera needs to be recharged.

These three examples have me caught up with the TAST challenge. Week 37 was the Rice Stitch with an additional variation of the Boss Stitch. I really liked these two and can see them being used many times in my work.


Week 38 was the Knotted Buttonhole, which I'm not sure about. I had a difficult time getting the tension even, so that's probably why I wasn't so happy with it. Obviously I need to practice more!!


Week 39 is the Reversed Buttonhole Bar, which you can see on the right in the picture. The top (in blue) was worked with a fine pearl cotton and obviously didn't work too well. I switched to a heavier weight for the upper pink row and am pleased with it. The bottom pink row shows two rows together, which is even nicer. I like this stitch!


Thanks again Sharon for teaching us these stitches. http://sharonb.wordpress.com

Finished project!

I finished my beaded doll! I'm excited because there are an awful lot of beads stitched onto this thing and I thought I would never get it done. It sure has heightened my appreciation of those that bead projects such as this. This is a 'first' for me and I know there are areas I could have done 'better' but all in all, I'm happy with her. So far she remains nameless...

Further on beading - I know I've mentioned the ongoing Bead Journal Project before, but it is certainly worth another mention. If you are interested in seeing some pretty spectacular beaded projects, check it out at http://beadjournalproject.blogspot.com Be sure to follow the links to the individual artists to see what they're working on. Before you ask, no I'm not involved in the project and am just a fan. Enjoy!

Twinkle Toes I'm Not!

Today, against what should be my better judgement, we went canoeing. I haven't so much as been in a canoe for over 25 years but, being a good wife and knowing how much Jack likes canoeing, I put my big girl panties on and went.

Despite his protests to the contrary, that darned canoe is heavy!! Putting it on top of a van is NOT fun. Then standing around waiting for him to put a thousand and one knots in ropes holding the thing down is a lesson in patience let me tell you.

OK..we're off on our adventure. Oops...the 'tire' light is coming on which means we have a problem with a tire. Well then. We stop at the side of the road (perilously close to the traffic I might add) whilst the air gets checked. Ok...onward (gazing at the light every few seconds to see if it changed...WHY do men do that??).

The river we were going to is quite nice (as the picture will attest) and I loved just paddling along (oh...did I happen to mention I can't swim??). Saw a whole flock of geese and a blue heron. I know my shoulders will be screaming blue murder tomorrow.

Then comes 'the REST of the story', which is the point of all this babbling. We arrive back at the spot we put the boat in and Jack wedges it onto the side so that I can get out. My balance isn't the best at any time, so there I am wobbling precariously in the canoe while I'm trying to use the paddle to steady me. Looking good. First leg out. Good. Second leg...oops...the lip of my shoe and the lip of the canoe decided to lock lips and.....flailing rather ingloriously...I tried very hard to make a body-imprint into the gravel/rocks. Jack, of course, being ever helpful, tried his level best not to laugh and, I have to admit, did a fairly good job. Only I could manage to not get wet until the very end!

I'm too old for this!! I won't mention how many places on my body hurt right now....and.....remember those big girl panties I mentioned at the beginning? Yep, you haven't lived til you have to drive nearly an hour...wet!

Mumbling, or not

My 'project' isn't ready to show quite yet, so I shall mumble instead.

I've been spending a fair amount of time on the computer the past few days (having over a week of 'no-computer' tends to lead to heavy-duty withdrawal and I need to top myself up again). Anyway...several of my favourite blogs/sites have been talking about pretty much the same subject (must be a phase of the moon or something). It seems that many people are feeling a great deal of dissatisfaction with their creative lives, for various reasons. They seem to be feeling overwhelmed and not worthy. Oddly enough, they have been putting into words exactly what I seem to be feeling too. Weird. Of course their words are much better at it than what mine will be, but I need to have my two cents worth on the subject.


What consitutes being an artist anyway? Where and how does one cross the line between being a crafter and an artist? Is a crafter one who follows a strict pattern/instruction/how-to? Is an artist the one who creates strictly on their own? What do you call the person that is part-way in between...someone who works outside the 'pattern box' ? I seem to fall pretty much into the latter category, but so much want to step outside. Is it because I'm so comfortable where I am...is it fear of the unknown....or is it because I simply don't have the required talent? Am I too much of a perfectionist and crowd-follower? Do I rely too much on the opinion of my family and friends, who are mainly supportive but look askance at the few things I have managed to do that are 'outside-the-box'. Is it because I'm a child at heart and look so hard for positive strokes, forcing myself to do the expected in order to earn approval? Do I have a fear of 'wasting' perfectly good supplies on something that has a pretty good chance of being a flop? All are questions I really wish I could answer for and about myself.


On another subject --- I'm trying to force myself to actually *use* supplies I've had in my stash for ages and saving for the inevitable rainy day or a better project to come along to do them justice. It is incredibly hard! I never thought I would be having such a struggle with the concept. It's like making notes in books (gasp!). I very nearly hyper-ventilate at the very thought. 'What do you MEAN...fold down a page????!!" "You're laying that book down OPEN??!!!" ok Mary Anne, you can breathe 

Sorry....

....I didn't manage to get enough time today to have my current project ready to show you, so I'll show these instead. These are for our CQTeer swap coming up next week. Last month I wasn't able to attend the meeting and didn't share the 'travel' theme you can see on the upper right. The atc on the bottom is the current theme (CSI-Forensics). The piece on the upper left is what I might be teaching this time (or is it next time...not sure). It's a crayon batik technique and is quite fun to do.

I hope to have my other project done by the first of the week so stay tuned!

oops...

...forgot to mention which stitches these are! Week 32 was the Crested Chain stitch and is worked in blue on the sample (right). Week 33 was the Scroll Stitch and is in the dark pink. Week 34 was the Portugese Stem Stitch and is in yellow.

Week 35 was the Shisha stitch, which I haven't done yet - simply because I know I have some shisha mirrors here somewhere and can't put my hands on them! Finally, week 36 is the Cable Chain Stitch which is on the left in the sample in two shades of blue.

I've done the Shisha stitch before, but the others were all new to me and a real fun challenge to learn.

Of TAST and trees....

You know how they say that pride goeth before a fall? Well, I was feeling quite proud of myself that I had caught up on the TAST (Take A Stitch Tuesday) challenge that SharonB has been doing with us all year and then (the fall) my computer had to go in for repairs and now I'm behind again! Oh well, my intentions are good anyway and I'm committed to seeing the challenge through for the year, not only because I said I would, but because I'm learning so much and know that the instructions and the encouragement Sharon has given me will last a lifetime. ( http://sharonb.wordpress.com )

The other picture is of Jack and our 'tree' in the backyard. He is just over six feet tall, so you can get an idea of how large this sunflower truly is. It's a volunteer which we suspect came from some birdseed we had scattered on the driveway last winter. We'll be saving some seeds so we can try growing more next year. There are over a hundred flowers on it right now and there would have been tons more if my dad hadn't used it for target practice with his car a few times (we won't discuss his driving skills!). The bottom part of the stem is at least 4 inches across.

Introducing.........

Mary Anne....the sheep!! I know, you're all wondering why on earth I would be showing you a picture of a sheep. Well. I have a wee story to tell.

During my disappearance from the blogging world, we were away at a wonderful B&B just outside Algonquin Park (for those that don't know, it's a very large provincial park north of where we live). The owners of the B&B had three sheep, which she used to make her own yarn and wonderful felted projects.

The B&B itself is located approximately a mile and a half in the bush and is quite isolated from civilization as such. For miles around there is nothing but trees. The sheep themselves were penned beside their pond (which to me is more the size of a small lake). We visited them on Friday night when we first arrived and planned to take some pictures the next day when the light would be better. So....

after a wonderful (and tiring day) of hiking in the park, we returned to the house (the owners were away at a wedding) and proceeded down to the pond and the sheep pen, only to find the gate askew and no sheep! None. Jack and I stared rather wild-eyed at each other and, despite our best intentions, realized we stood no chance of tracking them down in all that bush and would only be lost ourselves. We felt really, really bad because we knew there were wolves and bears in those woods and that wolves and bears really would like to 'eat' sheep! So.....

feeling sad, we left a note on the kitchen counter to explain the situation, signed it with my name, and went off to bed. About two hours later, the owners arrived home and all I could hear was laughing. Hmm...obviously they had tied one on at the wedding and didn't fully appreciate the seriousness of the situation.

We awoke the next morning to the baaing of sheep and heaved a sigh of relief that obviously the owner had managed to track them down. We went down to breakfast and asked the obvious question, only to be greeted with more laughter. As it turns out, the sheep had gotten out before, but this was the first time one of them had left a note saying they were gone! So....meet my namesake...Mary Anne!!

As a footnote to the story, the sheep hadn't escaped at all...they were simply moved to another pen which we were unaware of and couldn't see readily. And, the reason they hadn't tumbled to the fact that my name is Mary Anne is because the registration at the B&B was done as 'Mary'. We all had a great laugh and I just had to take a picture of myself to post here.

The other pic is just one of the many I took of the fine scenery in the area.

I'm baaaack!!!

Hooray, I finally got my computer out of bondage and can get back to normal living. I cannot believe how much I've missed everybody and felt so out of touch with the world!! Have a ton of emails to catch up on, so will try to get something interesting up on here tomorrow. Thanks for being patient!
...going away now, doing a happy dance......

Bad blogger, bad....

Yep, that's me lately and I'm very sorry if you have grown to depend on this blog every day (as if!). #1 son is now home for a couple of days (first time since Christmas) so I've been spending time with him. He's just finished 8 months of grueling school while working full time too and has managed to make the dean's list as a chef. We're very proud of him and our #2 son who has recently been promoted to a manager for Staples. It's so nice to know they're both doing well.

The picture today is of a couple of atc's I just finished up for a trade, which is pretty much all I've managed to accomplish over the last couple of weeks.

Now, just to burst your bubble of anticipation of my return to daily blogging, I hate to inform you that I will be going away for three days (leaving tomorrow) and while I'm away, my computer will be visiting the repair shop. So...I won't be talking to you again til possibly Monday. Please don't behave yourselves and be safe.

I Dunno....

....would you claim this guy as your son? Or this girl as your daughter-in-law-to-be?? Should I be worried? Just think...if they ever have kids, what they're gonna look like!!

Anyway, I'm back after a very hectic week where life really and truly got in the road of my computer time.

Life!

Hi folks. Just a quick check-in to tell you that my appearances here for the next few days will be spotty at best. Life has gotten in the way of my free time. I'll be back!

SharonB's new site!!

For anyone who is following Sharon Boggin's site (www.inaminuteago.com) and is undertaking her current Take a Stitch Tuesday challenge, she has changed her site to: http://sharonb.wordpress.com I will be changing the link in my sidebar when I get an opportunity to do so.

For those of you who don't know who SharonB is, you should! She has by-far the best stitch dictionery on the internet and regularly points us to sites that are of interest to anyone in the fibre arts. She writes very thought-provoking articles on many aspects of the art world and is the first blog I check on a daily basis. Can you tell I'm a fan?

Anyway, do check her out!